By Virginia Valencia
As the fall season approaches with the waning sun and the shorter days, I find myself craving the last drops of summer fun.
Heading to the movies is the epitome of summer. I found myself watching “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” starring Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds.
Michael Bryce (Reynolds), the world’s top protection agent is entrusted to guard the life of the world’s top hitman Darius Kincaid (Jackson), who has the witness statement to put away a merciless Eastern European dictator Vladislav Dukhovich (Gary Oldman).
Salma Hayek as Sonia brought about a latin flare as the humorous and tough-loving wife of Kincaid. Elodie Yung plays Reynolds’ ex-girlfriend, Amelia Roussel, an Interpol agent.
For the next 24 hours, Bryce drags Kincaid from England to The Hague encountering outrageous high-speed car chases, ridiculous boat escapades and the many men under Dukhovich that will stop at nothing to keep them from reaching their goal.
I mean, how could I not want to watch this? How could anyone not want to watch this?
This film’s buddy action comedy that was once a staple in the ‘80s to the ‘90s gave my heart a leap. I grew up watching all kinds of mismatched pairs bicker back a forth. It made me laugh and root for the slap in the face of justice that was awaiting the bad guy.
Although the action is run of the mill, the comedy is top-notch. The squabble between Kincaid and Bryce is amusing. Bryce exemplifies Reynolds’s wise guy attitude and Kincaid exhibits Jackson’s shameless and inappropriate demeanor. The personality clash that they have is bound to get out of hand. When it does, there is no option but for the audience to love it.
Ryan Reynolds’s renowned performance as “Deadpool,” has made a platform for humor that bleeds into his most recent work.
Samuel L. Jackson has repeatedly proven that he is a character with a strong back bone. I would argue that the main allure of the film was Jackson’s over the top, R-rated dialogue. This film is the first major feature with Jackson as an action lead since 2006’s “Snakes on a Plane.”
“The Hitman’s Bodyguard” is a well-timed movie to end this summer’s movie season. As the theater doors closed behind me the cold air surprised me. Ah, here comes the fall.