{"id":22918,"date":"2021-06-15T15:18:08","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T22:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=22918"},"modified":"2021-06-15T15:18:08","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T22:18:08","slug":"the-hitmans-wifes-bodyguard-misses-the-mark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=22918","title":{"rendered":"THE HITMAN\u2019S WIFE\u2019S BODYGUARD Misses the Mark"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This film will be released exclusively at theaters on\nJune 16th<\/sup>, 2021.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Released in 2017, The Hitman\u2019s Bodyguard<\/em> was a\nthrowback to buddy action pictures of old, coasting mostly on the charm and\nchemistry of its two lead actors. It was also a box office success, which means\nthat these performers have now returned for a new adventure. Oddly enough, this\nis a sequel that emphasizes outrageous shootouts and action over the central\nrelationship between the protagonists. As a result, The Hitman\u2019s Bodyguard\u2019s\nWife<\/em> wastes its talented cast, who end up getting lost in the chaos.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After the events of the previous film, an anxiety-ridden Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) has lost his bodyguard license. Seeking calmness and tranquility, he decides to take a vacation, only to encounter a manic Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek). She tells him that her husband Darius (Samuel L. Jackson) has been kidnapped by mobsters and demands his help to retrieve him. Pulled along against his wishes, he and the others become embroiled in an international plot involving terrorist Aristotle Papadopoulos (Antonio Banderas). It seems that the European Union are about to impose sanctions on Greece and this criminal has decided to use a massive drill to take down the power grid of Europe and cause devastation. The threesome set out to stop the threat and save the continent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As you can already tell by reading the synopsis, the plot\nitself is fairly vague and nonsensical, serving only as an excuse for the\ncharacters to travel to some admittedly scenic locations and fire weapons at villainous\ngoons. And while the emphasis on slapstick and sights gags might initially seem\nlike a good idea, the final product overplays the material. The first half is\nfilled with choppy and chaotic action. The usually exemplary actors appear to\nhave been told that they should be spending the entirety of their screen time\nscreaming and shouting at one another in the most exaggerated manner possible.\nThis even includes the Interpol agent (Frank Grillo) who suddenly takes charge\nof the mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The action is generally well-staged, but montages are\nfrequently used to move the characters through situations as quickly as\npossible. The end result is all so hectic that it doesn\u2019t come across as amusing.\nIn fact, the rapid pace really hurts the film. While Reynolds does manage to\nsell a quip or two while under duress, many of the verbal jabs between the\nprotagonists end up landing with a thud. And the jokes themselves aren\u2019t all\nthat clever to begin with. Some physical humor in the feature\u2019s early sections\ninclude thugs having their brains blown out, with brain matter splashing onto a\nhorrified Bryce. Perhaps something humorous could have been made with the lead forced\nto move around in public covered in gore, but none of the extras in later\nscenes seem to notice or care about his blood-soaked clothes.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thankfully, after some time the movie does calm down and begins\nto improve. When Bryce, Darius and Sonia seek refuge with one of the\nbodyguard\u2019s family members, the ensuring conversation does result in amusing banter.\nBryce\u2019s strained relationship with a parental figure and a backstory between\nSonia and Papadopoulos are entertaining subplots that allow for some interesting\nconflict and conversation between the central characters. It\u2019s unfortunate that\nthese more interesting elements are introduced so late into the proceedings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There isn\u2019t anyone who wouldn\u2019t have appreciated this cast\ntrading sharp-witted barbs while on the run from sinister forces. Alas, the\napproach to this sequel is so hyperactive and overbaked that the great cast end\nup being given little to do except chew scenery. While its predecessor wasn\u2019t perfect,\nit did have a few engaging moments. In the end, The Hitman\u2019s Wife\u2019s\nBodyguard<\/em> ends up whiffing on far too many elements and ultimately misses\nthe mark. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This film will be released exclusively at theaters on June 16th, 2021. Released in 2017, The Hitman\u2019s Bodyguard was a throwback to buddy action pictures of old, coasting mostly on the charm and chemistry of its two lead actors. It was also a box office success, which means that these performers have now returned for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":22919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[206,697,1627,3645,4660,9219,15590,17485,17542,17598,18035,20977,20982,20983,20984,20985],"class_list":["post-22918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-206","tag-action","tag-antonio-banderas","tag-buddy-picture","tag-comedy","tag-hitmans-wifes-bodyguard","tag-over-the-top","tag-ryan-reynolds","tag-salma-hayak","tag-samuel-l-jackson","tag-sequel","tag-the-hitmans-bodyguard","tag-the-hitmans-wifes-bodyguard","tag-the-hitmans-wifes-bodyguard-film-review","tag-the-hitmans-wifes-bodyguard-movie-review","tag-the-hitmans-wifes-bodyguard-review"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22918\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}