Jackson, Reynolds tick all the boxes

03 Sep, 2017 - 00:09 0 Views
Jackson, Reynolds tick all the boxes

The Sunday Mail

THERE are so many things wrong with the buddy cop comedy genre today.

However, what can one do when faced with the irresistible Marvel pairing of Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson in Millennium Pictures’ latest offering, “Hitman’s Bodyguard”?

The film has nothing to do with their Marvel alter-egos, but imagine how cool it would have been had Millennium Films dropped an Easter-egg or two to that effect. That said, “Hitman’s Bodyguard” is testimony of that this genre is dying. The film lacks in almost every department; writing, directing and action sequences.

This movie’s only saving grace, and a huge positive at that, is the irresistible chemistry between its two leads – Jackson and Reynolds -two of the biggest mouths in Hollywood. The film follows the life of independent bodyguard Michael Bryce upon failing to protect his latest client, a corrupt Asian businessman Kurosawa (Tsuyawuki Saotome). Bryce loses his standing in the protection community and Interpol.

His moment of redemption comes two years later when an old flame, Emelia Roussel (Elodie Yung), out of desperation, comes calling with a high-value job. It turns out Roussel has been tasked with protecting and delivering a lethal assassin Darius Kincaid to The Hague where he has to testify against Vladislav Dukhovich (Gary Oldman), the ruthless and bloodthirsty dictator of Belarus.

The two have roughly 48 hours to deliver Kincaid from England to the Netherlands, during which they have to contend with dozens of highly skilled killers tasked with stopping them.

As far as simple and generic plots are concerned, this one really takes the cake. The film ticks off boxes of this clichéd genre. Two mismatched people forced together with one common goal. Check.

Strained history or clashing personalities. Check.

A journey, either literal or figurative, that takes them from being bitter enemies to finding common ground. Double check. Plenty of shoot outs, car chases, hand to hand combat and a love story too for good measure. Check, check, check.

The biggest disappointments – and this is not restricted to the buddy cop genre alone but almost every other action genre – is the absence of a credible protagonist. Not only is this box not checked but they also waste one of the most talented actors in Gary Oldman, who is not given any material to chew on.

My initial reaction to this movie was that it simply reminded me of the most recent James Bond movie (Spectre). I mean, how can you sign on talented thespians like Oldman and Christoph Waltz, and not give them any material.

If there are any two men that were born to play villains, then it would be these two, what with their mastery of accents, decades of experience and natural charisma. Fortunately, all these weakness do not really matter as Jackson and Reynolds combine to give standing ovation worth performances.

Their chemistry, while lacking consistency here and there, is mostly on point. Reynolds delivers in the comedy department, while Jackson does surprisingly well when required. It would be a grave injustice if I do not give Selma Hayek (Sonia Kincaid) her props for trying to hang with these two seasoned and polished performers.

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