STARS: 4/5

“The Hitman’s Bodyguard” creates an action-comedy odd couple with the back-and-forth banter of Ryan Reynolds’ uptight character and the foul-mouthed nature of Samuel L. Jackson’s character.

The comedy is action-packed, with one event happening after another as bodyguard Michael Bryce (Reynolds) tries to keep the unkept hitman Darius Kincaid (Jackson) out of harm’s way so he could testify against Vladislav Dukhovich, the bloodthirsty dictator of Belarus.

Considering the pair couldn’t be more unalike, the high jinks during their trip proved to be hysterical. Reynolds’ portrayal of Bryce’s high-strung mentality and Jackson’s representation of Kincaid’s carefree attitude shows why they frustrate each other.

The movie was easy to keep up with — there weren’t any dull segments — and, it seemed overwhelmingly active, and left little time for the romantic aspect of the film. However, since that wasn’t the focus of the film it worked on screen.

The movie has the audience guessing the meaning behind Kincaid’s willingness to kill, and through revealing more of his backstory, the audience comes to develop a love for the character.

Bryce also evolved as the movie went on, surprisingly with help from his counterpart Kincaid. The development in Bryce’s character is satisfying and leads him to make decisions he doesn’t expect to make.

Comedic relief can be found from Kincaid’s wife, Sonia, played by Salma Hayek. Though her foul language is overdone, their love story is a humorous addition to an already funny movie because of her ill-tempered behavior, similar to Kincaid.

Overall, the storyline was basic and the great cast made the movie enjoyable. The pairing of Jackson and Reynolds worked unexpectedly well with the good cop/bad cop vibe. Entertaining and simple, this movie is worth a trip to theater.