Ryan Reynolds has proved time and time again that he can do no wrong on screen. His presence, performances, and comedic timing are just impeccable and second to none. He's been part of the Marvel and DC universe for many years now and everything in between, including a fantastic thriller titled Buried. A few years ago, Reynolds teamed up with Samuel L. Jackson for a big action-comedy film in The Hitman's Bodyguard that starred the Deadpool actor get beat up for a couple of hours. Since that film did well financially, it was inevitable everyone would come back for a bigger and better sequel - The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard - and bring along a few new castmates to the chaos.
The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard enhances the carnage, action, and expletives in this sequel, just like any second film of a franchise should. There's no dialing back with this second outing, but instead, there's an exploding element with each scene, whether it be into a wild chase of blazing guns and blood or giant explosions that cause multiple deaths. After the first film, Michael Bryce (Reynolds) had earned some much-needed relaxation and therapy. He seems to be on the up-and-up until a woman named Sonia (Salma Hayek) asks Bryce to head back into the bodyguarding world to help rescue her husband Darius Kincaid (Jackson), who has been kidnapped by some bad people.
Gunbattle after gunbattle, Bryce and Sonia become tangled up in the web of Aristotle Papadopoulos (Antonio Banderas), who is hellbent on destroying a big chunk of the world's power grid. So now, poor Bryce has to deal with rescuing his friend and stopping Aristotle, but just like the first film, Reynolds is basically Evil Dead's Bruce Campbell in that he is constantly getting his butt kicked at every corner, but somehow survives. Add in newcomers Morgan Freeman and Frank Grillo to the mix and this big bang sequel checks all of the action-blockbuster boxes - and then some. The film doesn't do anything really different than before, but it definitely amps up the action and funny dialogue quite a bit.
Most of the dialogue is the main stars yelling at each other with funny vulgar language. Since it's Reynolds and Jackson delivering these hilarious jokes, the words are almost poetic since these two stars are synonymous with bad language and using certain four-letter words perfectly. Not only is the dialogue a lot of fun to watch unfold, but the physical. comedy, especially from Reynolds is fantastic here as most of his co-stars pick up the slack while he is left beaten up. There's no rhyme or reason to any of the action other than it simply exists to entertain and be larger than last time, which gives a great excuse for these characters to once again yell at each other in funny ways.
The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard is great fun if the goal is to watch a Michael Bay-style action film with some excellent actors in tow, and two of the best people who deliver vulgar insults that seem like a ballet of chaos and comedy. There's room for a third film here as Reynolds and Jackson seem to still be having a ball on the screen.
Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard protects its way to 4K + Blu-ray + Digital Copy via Lionsgate. The discs are housed in a hard, black plastic case with a cardboard sleeve with artwork that features the cast and action of the film. There is an insert for a digital copy.
The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard comes with a 2160p UHD transfer in 4K with Dolby Vision and HDR with an aspect ratio of 2.39:1 that looks excellent. There's a good uptick in nuanced colors and detail throughout this action-packed film.
The color palette is mostly natural with some hints of yellow filters in certain sequences for style. Green leaves and grass are exceptionally green which goes well with the blue and gray skies above. Interiors have quite a bit of amber color to them, either in logos or lighting. Nothing is overly white or bright here. It's nice to see the angelic-like color scheme when Reynolds is enjoying his vacation before the carnage begins as well with more yellows and neutral colors being the prominent shield. Once that is over, the colors are more vibrant and indeed violent with bigger orange gun blasts from weapons and even great shades of red in the blood and guts that are splattered everywhere. Black levels are deep and inky with no issues of bleeding or murky shadows. Skin tones are also natural.
The detail is vivid and sharp that reveal great facial features in close-ups. Individual facial stubble, hairs, moles, facial pores, and droplets of sweat and blood all show up nicely here. The practical effects of gore also show a nice smattering of bone and muscle. The CGI effects can be somewhat soft here and there, but this 4K presentation allows for most of the digital detail to show up nicely with the exception of a few flat sequences - visually speaking. The Dolby Vision upgrades the colors in each scene that gives way to some great textures in the detail of costumes and props. Lastly, there were no major issues with banding, aliasing, or noise here, leaving this 4K presentation the better option than the standard Blu-ray counterpart.
This release comes with an impressive Dolby Atmos track that is the epitome of what an action film should sound like. The sound effects are loud, robust, and full of vigor right from the get-go. Vehicle chases and the many gun blasts all provide some excellent reverb and bangs that travel across the soundscape. These gunshots and revving engines all have a great low end of bass that has an amazing rumble to it at all times that never crosses into rocky territory.
Scenes inside of restaurants, clubs, or businesses have all the necessary ambient noises of people talking, yelling, along with glasses and props banging around. The height speakers bring larger explosions with debris falling down and more ambient sounds making this track a fantastic immersive listening experience. The score and song cues all add to the tone of action and comedy while the dialogue is clean and clear without any audio issues.
Only about 39 minutes of bonus material is included here with some standard EPK like interviews and behind-the-scenes clips.
The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard is a sequel that exists to amp up all the elements from the first film while shedding some light on who those two great characters were that everyone came to love. Hayek and Banderas were excellent additions to the cast and it was great to see them on screen together once again. The 4K presentation with Dolby Vison looks great and the Dolby Atmos track is demo-worthy. There are some fun extras, but nothing too important. Overall, this is a fun 4K release. Recommended!
