6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
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 | 14% |
Comedy | 2% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
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 (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy
DVD copy
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.
The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films and Summit Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.38:1. The IMDb discloses a variety of Arri models were used, with a 4K DI, as relevant data points. Much as with the first film's high definition presentation, this is an often beautifully sharp and well detailed looking transfer, and aside from some noticeably soft looking CGI that pops up in various action set pieces, there's appealing clarity and fine detail throughout the film. (There are actually a few moments where Michael gets sprayed with various "leftovers" of shot bodies where fine detail may be too much for more squeamish viewers.) Once again a glut of worldwide locations adds to the luster, though it did look to me like some stock footage may have been used for a few establishing shots, many of them aerial and with less fulsome detail levels than the bulk of the presentation. The palette is rather gorgeously suffused quite a bitr of the time, and much like the first film, there really isn't an over emphasis on heavily graded material. There are some weird scattered anomalies that almost look like a malfunctioning lens or like someone smeared a bit of petroleum jelly on the lens that are actually probably more noticeable in the 4K UHD version, and which are mentioned in detail in our Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard 4K Blu-ray review.
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 and the supplementary package enjoyable, for those who are considering making a purchase.
2017
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IMAX Enhanced
2020
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Mastered in 4K
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Ultimate Collector's Edition
1994