Film

The Hitman's Bodyguard

Name: The Hitman's Bodyguard
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Released: 2017
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Salma Hayek Pinault, Élodie Yung

Action
Gangster
Relentless

A smart-mouthed bodyguard and a trash-talking assassin are forced to work together to reach a war crimes trial. It's a two-hander action-comedy built on the chemistry between Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson trading insults at volume. Reliably fun if you want explosions seasoned with banter and don't mind that the plot is basically a taxi ride.

TMDb rating

3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like buddy-action comedies where two prickly leads trade insults through a chain of car chases and gunfights, and you enjoy Samuel L. Jackson at full volume.

Skip it if you need the menace to land, since the banter keeps puncturing tension and the gunfire and bloodshed come frequently.

What it asks of you: Around two hours of nonstop motion, the mood swinging quickly between profanity-laced jokes and hard-edged brutality, so it rewards loose, undemanding attention more than close study.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Beverly Hills Cop1984

Eddie Murphy's unstoppable charm carries a cop fish-out-of-water story that invents the action-comedy template. Quotable, propulsive, and genuinely funny—the blueprint *Hitman's Bodyguard* is working from.

But It's 1984 action, so the pacing feels slack by modern standards and some jokes have not survived the decade well.

Rush Hour1998

Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker prove that a mismatched cop duo can carry a whole film on chemistry alone. Inventive action sequences paired with genuine warmth under the comedy.

But Tucker's volume-based comedy hasn't aged into everyone's taste, and the film occasionally trades characterisation for spectacle.

Lethal Weapon1987

Mel Gibson and Danny Glover create the original buddy-cop odd couple with real stakes. The action is credible, the humour emerges from character, and it actually has a heart underneath the explosions.

But The action is slower than you expect, and it leans into 80s action tropes that feel dated if you're used to modern pacing.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from The Hitman's Bodyguard

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Midnight Run1988

Both are built entirely on two leads trading insults while forced together; both know the destination matters less than who you're with when you get there.

Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin are a bounty hunter and fugitive with a contempt-to-affection trajectory that actually earns its emotions. The road-trip structure lets character and comedy breathe without requiring you to care about the plot.

But It's a 1988 comedy so the pacing is genuinely leisurely, and if you want constant action you'll be frustrated by how often it stops to talk.

The Nice Guys2016

Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe are a bickering detective duo navigating 1970s LA. Smart, hilarious, gorgeously shot—this is what happens when you pair real actors with real dialogue in an action-comedy.

But It's deliberately slow-burn and deliberately sad in places; if you want constant momentum you'll feel it dragging.

Tropic Thunder2008

Four comedians trapped in a Vietnam War film within a film. It's cleverly constructed comedy that works as both satire and straight action-adventure, with genuine laughs and surprises.

But The humour is sometimes mean-spirited and the plot threads don't all land equally; it can feel scattered if you're not on its frequency.

The Other Guys2010

Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg bicker their way through a cop comedy with real visual gags and a bonkers final act. Ferrell playing it straight while Wahlberg works his comedic timing is pure chemistry.

But The first half is uneven, and Wahlberg's gimmick (getting angry) can wear thin if you're not already on board.

Bullet Train2022

Brad Pitt as a zen assassin bounces off a crack ensemble cast on a moving train. Stylish, kinetic action with a real sense of fun and visual inventiveness that keeps things fresh.

But The plot is deliberately slight and the tone shifts jarringly between tones; some will find it more style than substance.

Central Intelligence2016

Dwayne Johnson and Kevin Hart play former bullied kid and high-school jock reunited as CIA partners. Their size difference and genuine affection for each other carries what could be a thin premise.

But The script is thin, the action is forgettable, and it coasts almost entirely on the leads' warmth without earning it narratively.

Ride Along2014

Ice Cube and Kevin Hart play a cop and his overeager fiancé's brother on a ride-along. Hart's manic energy is deployed well and Cube's deadpan irritation is a nice counterweight.

But It's fundamentally a flimsy premise stretched thin, the action is by-the-numbers, and it doesn't justify its own runtime.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang2005

Both are action films that know the wisecracks matter more than the action; both hinge on male actors doing comedy while surrounded by actual violence.

Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe in a neo-noir Los Angeles mystery where the leads are idiots trying to play competent. It's funny, strange, narratively bold, and pulled together by a cynical voice that loves its characters anyway.

But The plot doubles back on itself deliberately, the tone is erratic, and if you need a film that makes conventional sense you'll bounce off it hard.

Three Kings1999

Both have mismatched male leads bickering through action, but *Three Kings* reveals that the formula conceals something about complicity and indifference to suffering that *Bodyguard* never touches.

George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube search for Kuwaiti gold in post-Gulf War Iraq, and it becomes something far darker and more serious than the premise suggests. It's a war film masquerading as a heist comedy until it suddenly isn't.

But The tonal shift from comedy to atrocity is severe and alienating; it's not interested in making you comfortable and the violence matters in ways Hollywood action doesn't usually demand.