6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 3.7 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.1 |
Three years after the events of the original film, bodyguard Michael Bryce continues his friendship with assassin Darius Kincaid as they are going out to a new adventure to save Sonia, Darius's wife from new threats.
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek, Antonio Banderas, Morgan FreemanAction | 100% |
Thriller | 15% |
Comedy | 4% |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.38:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Ryan Reynolds seems to be one of the few established actors in Hollywood who has a genuine sense of humor about himself and his sometimes errant career, as evidenced by this hilarious (if bloody) snippet from Deadpool 2 where our time travelling hero goes back a few years in order to prevent an impending disaster of horrifying magnitude. Reynolds obviously rebounded pretty effectively from Green Lantern, and is in fact enjoying pretty laudatory critical reactions to Free Guy as this review is being written, so anyone who may worry a bit that The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard doesn't measure up to The Hitman's Bodyguard can probably put any concerns to rest. I was (hopefully) completely clear in our The Hitman's Bodyguard Blu-ray review that I found the first film offered nearly everything "turned up to 11", and some may argue that this sequel only "improves" (?) on that by turning things up to 12 (or possibly higher), something that may ultimately actually work against the film in the long run. But as I did with The Hitman's Bodyguard, I found this sophomore effort to be laugh out loud hilarious quite a bit of the time, though once again its humor is often derived from people screaming undeleted expletives at each other, as well as from absolutely lunatic action set pieces that offer sight gags like erstwhile triple A rated bodyguard Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) attempting to subdue a nemesis with pepper spray until Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek) simply dispatches the bad guy with a blood splattering bullet to the noggin.
Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 Blu-ray.
The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films and Summit Entertainment with a 2160p transfer in
2.38:1. The IMDb lists several Arri models and a 4K DI as relevant data points. This 4K version offers some noticeable upticks in fine detail in
particular across the board of the film's running time, while offering some interesting new highlights courtesy of Dolby Vision and/or HDR. While the
film hasn't been overly aggressively graded (commendably, in my not so humble opinion), there are some breathtaking vistas and a lot of
location material where an already impressive 1080 palette is more deeply saturated and any number of background tones, like the kind of green office
walls in Michael's therapist office, to some almost buttery yellows for the few moments Michael is enjoying his "vacation" before Sonia shows up, finding
new luster in this version. The increased resolution here probably does no major favors for some already pretty soft looking CGI, and some of the
effects in some of the chase scenes in particular look considerably less well detailed than the bulk of the presentation. My hunch that some stock
footage may have been used for establishing shots is reinforced by a noticeable if slight downgrade in clarity in just a few passing moments. As I
mentioned in our Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard Blu-ray
review, there are some weird if scattered anomalies that show up from time to time which I found more noticeable (and therefore distracting) in
the 4K UHD version than in the 1080 version, where either there was a malfunctioning lens or something happened along the way to create a
"smeary" out of focus look in just parts of the frame. Three places you can see this odd situation are in the opening dream sequence where Michael
first takes the podium at the AAA awards, and then later when Michael and Sonia are in a kind of archway as Sonia eats a banana, and, after that, a
club scene where Sonia and Michael attempt to take possession of a valuable briefcase.
The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard has a bombastic Dolby Atmos track that provides regular engagement of the surround channels, and at least intermittent engagement of the Atmos channels, throughout the film. A variety of things going boom or violent crashes, shootouts and hand to hand combat provide regular opportunities for a veritable glut of sound effects to careen around (and at times, over) the listener. The rote but propulsive score also spreads convincingly through the side and rear channels, and some scenes, like two raucous sequences set in clubs or bars, provide a wealth of background clamor spilling into the surround channels. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles are available.
The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard is noisy, chaotic, over the top and kind of ultimately a little exhausting, but I personally found it pretty funny quite a bit of the time. Some of the running gags, including the "friskiness" of Darius and Sonia definitely overstay their welcome, but Reynolds in particular is such an appealing presence as a Job-like character having all sorts of bad things happen to him that the film attains a kind of potent lunatic humor. Technical merits are generally great, with good improvements in both detail levels and nuance in the palette in the 4K UHD version, and the supplementary package enjoyable, for those who are considering making a purchase.
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Extended Cut
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