Ryan Reynolds, every guy’s man crush and the comedy star of this film. Let’s not forget that Samuel L. Jackson and Salma Hayek portrayed their crazy, psychotic characters perfectly. Patrick Hughes has carried on the Hitman films as though viewers did not have a four-year wait. Now, usually with a series of films, the second one lacks compared to the first and is not as good. Take this second film as an example, there were times when the comedy seemed too try-hard and not funny. There are also scenes within the film that are repetitive, during those times it was easy to lose concentration and become bored. However, there are many other aspects that make up for this, such as the action, the hilarious ending and the acting.
So, in the first film, the audience watches Michael Bryce’s (Ryan Reynolds) credible bodyguard career fall apart. One moment he’s one of the best bodyguard’s in America and the next he is helping one of the most dangerous hitmen, Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson), go against the villainous dictator, Vladislav Dukhovich (Gary Oldman). However, Bryce and Kincaid are against the clock as Kincaid has to attend a testimony against Dukhovich and if he does not make it in time then Dukhovich goes away free. Packed full of comedy, action and an entertaining storyline, it is a must-see before watching the sequel.
Then, in the second film, viewers see that Bryce is recovering from the loss of his bodyguard status, as well as the events of the previous film, and taking counseling sessions. However, when his counselor suggests taking a break and Bryce decides to go on holiday, that is a decision the character will come to regret. Whilst on his holiday, Bryce ‘bumps’ into Kincaid’s wife, Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek), and together they save Darius. Although, their journey as a trio does not end there. After being recruited for a mission by an Interpol Agent, the three of them have to stop a crazy rich man, Aristotle Papadoppoulos (Antonio Baneras), from committing international destruction. Much like the first film, it is full of humour, violence and an amazing cast.
As stated many times throughout this review, the film was incredibly funny. Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson are known for their comedic acting, take Reynolds in Deadpool and Jackson in Coming to America as examples. Both actors had a different approach when it came to delivering their humourous lines, which made the film enjoyable to watch. Reynolds delivered his lines with sarcasm, metaphors and a lot of emotion, while Jackson used anger and bluntness to deliver his lines; both completely different ways that complimented each other and delivered two completely different types of humour whilst sharing the screen. Then we have Hayek’s character, Sonia, who Hayek portrayed similar to Jackson’s character. Those who saw the first film will know that Sonia did not get much screen time so people get to experience this character a lot more in the second film. Sonia Kincaid is a firecracker, a fiesty con woman who is just as crazy as her husband is and Hayek conveys this character amazingly with a loud voice and irrational actions. Hayek’s character was as equally funny as Bryce and Darius, with lots of vulgar language and bluntness. Although, a lot of the credit has to go to the scriptwriters, Tom O’Connor, Brandon Murphy and Phillip Murphy, who have written a captivating comedy.
However, there were moments where it seemed they had been trying too hard to make it funny, resulting in those scenes not being funny at all. It almost felt like those moments when someone keeps retelling a joke and it becomes tedious. As stated earlier, people have high expectations for sequels as they will always be compared to the first film, however, they have tried too hard to make it funnier than the last one. In my opinion, there are funnier things than characters being extremely loud or overexaggerating, some scenes could have been toned down.
Even so, there was plenty of action to balance out the comedy. This film has not lost the mass amounts of action, violence and intensity that the first one had. It had everything a classic action film would have, there are car and boat chases, lots of fighting scenes infused with comedy gold, a fight scene in an expensive-looking club, and everything else an action-film fanatic would love. It is refreshing that, while they have tried to add too much comedy, they have balanced it out with action scenes. However, the action could become slightly repetitive at times. For example, the main trio must have been kidnapped around three times throughout the whole film. While three times may not seem that many, when you are sat in the cinema, absorbed by the film and in your own bubble, those scenes become unvarying. Personally, I think it made the film slightly boring and uninteresting at times.
Nevertheless, when it came to the ending, the film was still an incredibly enjoyable watch. While the plot came to a predictable end, which probably added to the humour of the film, the ending of the film was totally unpredictable and hilarious. As the plot ended it seemed as though it may have a cringe ending, especially since there has been no indication of a third film. However, it took an unexpected turn that hilariously made up for any doubts I had when watching the film.
So, would this be worth seeing? Yes, it has been a while since a worthy and entertaining action-comedy has been released and this sequel makes up for the wait. With this film making $56,870,603 worldwide, it’s a sought out film and one that will be perfect for a grown-up movie night in.