“Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” is the sequel to the original “Hitman’s Bodyguard” bringing back Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson. The movie adds Salma Hayek as Jackson’s wife, and she adds a different dimension to the unhinged action movie.

The movie’s premise is that after the events of the last movie, Michael Bryce (Reynolds) has lost his bodyguard license and is looking to get away from all the violence. Following a visit with his therapist, Bryce elects to take a “sabbatical” in which he doesn’t think about guns or blood.

Almost two minutes into his sabbatical, Sonia Kincaid (Hayek) comes crashing into his life while simultaneously engaged in an intense gun fight with random henchmen. She grabs Bryce and runs off to explain that her husband, Darius Kincaid (Jackson), has been kidnapped during their honeymoon. The pair rushes off to rescue him in what turns out to be a typical action adventure.

The movie itself seems to be just another excuse for an action flick — not horrible, but not necessarily unique among other films of its genre. The chemistry between Reynolds and Jackson has proven to be consistent once again, but the performance from Hayek is what carries this movie. 

Hayek’s electric and extremely unhinged character really helps to expand the comedic scope of the movie. She does a great job filling in some of the drier scenes with unpredictability that the movie absolutely needs. Also, her on-screen chemistry with Jackson was spot on, portraying the female version of Kincaid. 

Reynolds’ performance just seems to be Deadpool without the mask, and it feels a little off seeing Deadpool act like this Bryce guy. Jackson is given a primary role adjacent to Hayek as his wife, and he does a great job feeding off Hayek. The two consistently make fun of Reynolds, treating him like the third wheel, and the performances from both make it very funny. 

Overall, the action and motivations are typical of your standard action movie. It doesn’t diverge far from the action movie formula. The addition of Hayek makes the movie better, but this is more middle-of-the-pack for an action movie.

Rating: 5/10 (Fun first watch, but not rewatchable)