<Review by: Sailesh Ghelani>

Directed by Patrick Hughes. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L Jackson, Salma Hayek, Gary Oldman, Elodie Yung

Running time: 2 hours

Too long, poorly edited, totally predictable and terribly directed, The Hitman’s Bodyguard is watchable for the chemistry between its leads and nothing else.

Samuel L Jackson is a force in himself. A movie is what it is at least 50 per cent because he’s in it. He has a singular wit and vulgar charm about him that endears you to his character. And no one on the planet can use the word ‘motha fucker’ as powerfully and funnily as he does.

Ryan Reynolds has his particular charm and comic timing and so the two together turn out to deliver some funny moments in an otherwise drab and cliched story. Salma Hayek is a bi-lingual motor mouth and for the few scenes she has in the film she makes us want for more.

The plot of the movie is irrelevant and somewhat unnecessary considering the self-explanatory title and poster, which is meant to be ‘inspired’ by the infinitely better and very old cult classic The Bodyguard (with Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner).

Gary Oldman as the bad guy seems like he’s acting in another film considering his tone is poles apart from the irreverence of Jackson sitting and singing in a van full of nuns while evading bad guys. And the other bad guy in the film is evident from the moment you see him playing a good guy so they don’t even try and hide it for more than 5 minutes.

The Hitman’s Bodyguard is not about the story or direction or even the action sequences, some of which like the on-foot chase sequences are fun. It’s simply to show us what brilliance three actors with comic timing and personality can bring to an abysmally bad movie. They may not be able to save it from a bullet but they manage to breathe a bit of life into it.