Director: Patrick Hughes.
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Elodie Yung, Salma Hayek, Joaquim de Almeida, Yuri Kolokolnikov, Richard E. Grant, Sam Hazeldine.
Patrick Hughes comes in with his third feature length movie, best known for his work on Expendables 3 and an Australian westerner, Red Hill back in 2010 with this being a good step in the right direction showing off what he's capable of, taking on a story that isn't wholly original, being similar to Midnight Run and Flashback, though this isn't a remake of either.
Reynolds plays Michael Bryce, an elite, triple A, protection, control-freak, agent AKA the bodyguard; and Jackson, plays Darius Kincaid, his notorious, lethal and often reckless assassin, AKA the hitman. Now Jackson is the only remaining living witness that is willing to testify against a tyrannical dictator (Oldman) and requires protection to ensure he gets to the International Criminal Court in The Hauge before Oldman's hit squad can pick him off. So, instead of being pitted against one another, the unlikely pair have to fight their way to court.
It's actually difficult to see Reynolds in this kind of character without seeing him slip back into Deadpool mode, but he's ditched the mask but not the sarcasm and succeed in keeping Bryce fairly fresh. Jackson, though using doubles for a lot of his action, looks like his having a lot fun, it's actually the most fun I've ever seen him in. Yes, his lines are polluted with his trademark expletives, which are totally necessary and he sings! The carpool karaokes is just comic brilliance and me in stitches.
The script isn't completely tight and becomes very loose in places but when it works, it really works and with the static chemistry between Reynolds and Jackson, it makes this film an utter joy to watch as the two banter, whinge and insult each other as the battle out different approaches to each life-threatening situations. Jackson's expressions speak absolute volumes and Reynolds falls into his sarcastic, spoilt, smug part too seamlessly too. It's actually become one of my favourite Jackson characters.
The rest of the film is rather poor. Even Oldman, in fact, any scene that doesn't have Reynolds or Jackson shooting their mouths off at each other are all very weak scenes. It feels rushed, like they were the last scenes filmed and they were running out of time, budget and film to get it right, so it ends up being a film of some great parts stitched together with weaker scenes to complete the story. However, it isn't enough to make this a bad movie as the good bits certainly do make up for the bad.
There's so really good action sequences here, superbly captured, sharp, slick and creative. Nice noticeable camera work. It's actually a film that manages to get the balance right between being a comedy and an actioner having some very real, impressive and violent shoots whilst keeping the comedy very much funny. And it's all kept at a good pace with a film that runs longer than the usual film in it's genre.
It's obviously weak in parts but Hughes really shows promise as being an excellent action director. It's this action with Reynolds and Jackson's chemistry that make this film so much great fun.Plus there's a bit of heart in it too. It's definitely been the most entertaining film I've watched recently.
Running Time: 8
The Cast: 8
Performance: 7
Direction: 7
Story: 6
Script: 8
Creativity: 9
Soundtrack: 6
Job Description: 10
The Extra Bonus Point: 10 for giving me the most fun I've had in the cinema since probably The Avenger's.
79% 8/10
