The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017)

The Hitman’s Bodyguard is a gleefully high-octane buddy movie that knows exactly what it is: an excuse to lock Ryan Reynolds’ tightly wound professional into a moving vehicle with Samuel L. Jackson’s gloriously unfiltered chaos and let the sparks fly. The pleasure is in the rhythm—sharp banter, bruising action beats, and a constant sense of forward momentum as Europe becomes a playground for car chases, shootouts, and escalating indignities. Gary Oldman adds a snarling villainous edge that keeps the stakes feeling real even when the movie is winking at you, and the whole thing plays like a late-summer crowd-pleaser with a wicked sense of timing. It’s not for anyone allergic to relentless profanity and cartoonishly high body counts, but if you want a loud, funny, confidently ridiculous action ride, this one delivers.

The Hitman’s Bodyguard is clearly aiming to be a loud, glossy buddy-action romp where Ryan Reynolds’ anxious professionalism bounces off Samuel L. Jackson’s gleeful chaos, and on that basic level it delivers exactly what it promises. The problem is the movie leans hard on familiar action-comedy beats—endless bickering, predictable betrayals, and noisy set pieces—so the premise and cast feel like they’re doing more work than the script. It’s also longer than it needs to be, with stretches that start to feel like filler between the next shootout and the next punchline. If you want a tight thriller or clever comedy, this will likely irritate you; if you’re happy with R-rated banter, big body-count action, and two charismatic leads carrying a thin plot, it’s an easy enough time-killer.