The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017)

The Hitman’s Bodyguard (2017)

5/10

Starring

Ryan Reynolds

Samuel L. Jackson

Elodie Yung

Directed by Patrick Hughes

The very sad thing about this movie is the writing. We have all seen this before, a top security agency in this case Interpol, must transport a key witness who happens to be one of the henchmen of a top government personnel to testify against that personnel.

A security unit is attached to the witness, but the top government personnel has eyes inside the top security agency and learns the route of the transport to take it down and kill the witness.

Always one person and the witness survives, always one. You must understand there cannot be two survivors and the witness, that will not add to the dramatic effect that the writers of such cliché movies learned in “Lack Originality” class 101.

The lone survivor and the witness escapes to some haven and the lone survivor reaches out to someone for help in the transport.

In case you have not seen a movie like this before, I would have to say you must be living under a rock.

The one thing this movie had going for it will be the comedic tone it imbibed to help carry us along with this cliché roulette. The difference with this movie and other ones alike will be the pairing of the lead actors.

Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds were the pair in this movie playing Darius Kincaid and Michael Bryce respectively. Their chemistry is on point and their first meeting in the movie after like twenty-seven minutes into it, was a good show.

In this movie, the lone survivor happens to be Michael’s ex-girlfriend (Elodie Yung who we fondly know as Elektra Natchios in Netflix’s Daredevil and The Defenders series) which was easy to guess. You do not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out how they were going to tie Michael into this rendezvous.

The movie also had issues with the mental capability of its actors, like the girlfriend forgetting that the safe house will ring out when entered.

In the way action goes, the movie didn’t have a lack of it and the way the directing went (the director was Patrick Hughes who also directed The Expendables 3 (2014)), based on what he had on paper to work with I have no idea what to rate work here.

I did enjoy the ride because the chemistry between the two leads is something I think more writers need to explore with a better script and better director. Regardless, I cannot in good conscience rate this movie not more than a five. I will also not advise anyone to waste time on this, if you miss seeing this movie you have not missed anything at all.

Atomic Blonde (2017)

Atomic Blonde (2017)

6/10

Starring

Charlize Theron

James McAvoy

John Goodman

Directed by David Leitch

Here was a great idea packaged with a great soundtrack and filled with enough suspense to have you glued from the start.

Atomic Blonde is not the best spy film there is neither is the movie a great John Wick replacement, even though both actors were sparring partners during the training for their individual movies. Keanu Reeve’s training was for John Wick: Chapter Two (2017) and Charlize Theron’s was for this movie, the two friends had worked together in Devil’s Advocate and Sweet November.

Atomic Blonde for its performance had a bad pacing and weak script and very boring interludes between the action scenes and the interrogation scenes. The interrogation scenes had the lead giving details of her mission in 1989 Germany, during the collapse of the Berlin Wall. Her debriefing were the visuals for the whole movie.

The movie starts with the introduction and murder of an MI6 agent. The reason for his death was because in his person was a list which was concealed in a wristwatch. The list contains the names of every active secret agent in the Soviet Union.

Lorraine (Charlize Theron) was assigned by the MI6 to find and recover the list and to kill a double agent named Satchel. Satchel is a known double agent who has been selling secrets to the Soviets for years and is known to have betrayed MI6 agent who was murdered in the movie’s first scene.

The captivating journey of Lorraine to recover the list and to end the reign of Satchel, led her to meet a French spy Delphine (with whom she had a sexual relationship) and David Percival (James McAvoy). Percival is a semi-rogue agent which was already in Berlin trying to recover the list. His and Lorraine’s partnership was topsy-turvy making it difficult for you the viewer to know whether he is Satchel or Satchel is another agent we are hoping to meet ahead, adding to the suspense.

The movie’s firm stand is the awesome 80s soundtrack. This adaptation of Antony Johnston and Sam Hart's 2012 graphic novel The Coldest City had great reviews and also performed well in the box office.

Her performance is something to see and the fight scenes plus her solo one-man army character reminds you much of  John Wick’s character.

The movie had a Lesbian subplot which is not present in the graphic novel and its foundation in the movie is not solid. This very mediocre addition and various other bad scripting, messed up the movie’s pace and made it drop from what would have been a female John Wick movie.

Although the movie is a good watch it doesn’t make you crave or look forward to a second part.