The Hitman's Bodyguard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Evope (talk | contribs) at 21:59, 1 September 2017. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Hitman's Bodyguard
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPatrick Hughes
Written byTom O'Connor
Produced by
  • David Ellison
  • Mark Gill
  • Dana Goldberg
  • Matthew O'Toole
  • John Thompson
  • Les Weldon
Starring
CinematographyJules O'Loughlin
Edited byJake Roberts
Music byAtli Örvarsson
Production
companies
Distributed byLionsgate Films[1]
Release date
  • August 18, 2017 (2017-08-18)
Running time
118 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million[3]
Box office$65 million[3]

The Hitman's Bodyguard is a 2017 American action comedy film directed by Patrick Hughes and written by Tom O'Connor, whose script was on the 2011 Black List. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman and Salma Hayek, and follows a bodyguard who is hired to protect a hitman who has to testify at the International Court of Justice.

The Hitman's Bodyguard was released in the United States on August 18, 2017 and has grossed $65 million worldwide. The film received mixed reviews, with critics praising Reynolds and Jackson's chemistry but criticizing the cliché plot and execution.[4]

Plot

Bodyguard Michael Bryce is hired to protect Takashi Kurosawa, a Japanese arms dealer. All apparently goes well, until Kurosawa is shot in the head at the last minute. Two years later, Bryce has fallen into disgrace and ekes out a living protecting drug-addicted corporate executives. Meanwhile, Vladislav Dukhovich, the ruthless and bloodthirsty dictator of Belarus, is put on trial for crimes against humanity at the International Court of Justice. The prosecution is unable to make headway against him, as they are unable to substantiate their allegations with physical evidence and Dukhovich assassinates any witnesses who could do so. The prosecution's last hope is notorious hitman Darius Kincaid, who agrees to testify against Dukhovich in exchange for the exoneration of his wife Sonia, who is currently incarcerated.

Interpol Assistant Director Jean Foucher assigns Amelia Roussel, a greenhorn agent who is Bryce's estranged ex-girlfriend, to lead a squad of Interpol agents tasked with escorting Kincaid to The Hague to testify. However, the convoy is ambushed in Coventry and everyone except Kincaid and Roussel is killed. The two retreat to a safehouse, where they deduce someone in Interpol must have betrayed them to Dukhovich. Realizing that they need someone who is completely unaffiliated with Interpol and can remain trustworthy, Roussel contacts Bryce. Bryce is reluctant to help, as he has had multiple conflicts with Kincaid in the past and believes that Roussel was responsible for the death of Kurosawa two years ago, but ultimately agrees to aid them in exchange for the restoration of his good name. Roussel returns to Interpol to update them on the situation while Bryce and Kincaid escape an attack by Dukhovich's men.

Foucher approaches Dukhovich, revealing himself to be the traitor, and demands his payment for selling out Kincaid; Dukhovich stabs him in the hand and informs him he will only be paid when Kincaid is dead. Dukhovich's men track Kincaid's location through his cellphone and ambush him and Bryce. While they are able to fight them off, their vehicle is destroyed. The two hitchhike to a ferry terminal and take a ferry to Amsterdam, where Sonia is being held. Kincaid escapes from Bryce to send flowers to Sonia, and Bryce tracks him down and kills several more hitmen. Kincaid reveals that he killed Kurosawa two years ago, having shot him in order to collect the bounty on his head. Enraged at the revelation that he has spent two years blaming Roussel for "betraying" him when in reality the client's death was a sheer fluke, Bryce abandons him.

As Bryce bemoans his failures, a group of hitmen attacks Kincaid. Bryce changes his mind and helps Kincaid escape, but is captured. Dukhovich's men torture him in an attempt to find Kincaid, who tracks Bryce down and rescues him. The two battle their way to The Hague, arriving just in time for Kincaid to testify. He testifies that Dukhovich tried to hire Kincaid to assassinate a political rival, but in the process Kincaid witnessed the execution of a village, uploading photos of the massacre to a secret web site that he provides the court with access to. Dukhovich resorts to his backup plan; to bomb the court, allowing him to steal a gun and attempt to kill Kincaid. Bryce jumps in the way of the bullet and orders Kincaid to stop Dukhovich from escaping. Roussel notices Foucher acting suspiciously during the attack, and deduces he was the traitor. She subdues him with Bryce's aid, and the two rekindle their relationship. Kincaid pursues Dukhovich to the roof of the building, where he attempts to escape by helicopter. Kincaid destroys the helicopter and corners Dukhovich. Dukhovich attempts to break Kincaid by claiming he will never be able to redeem himself for his sins, but Kincaid laughs it off, stating that he doesn't care but that Dukhovich should not have shot Kincaid's bodyguard, and then Kincaid kicks Dukhovich off the roof to his death. In the aftermath, Sonia is released, and Kincaid breaks out of jail to celebrate their anniversary, living happily ever after.

Cast

Production

In May 2011, David Ellison's Skydance Media acquired the action script The Hitman's Bodyguard written by Tom O'Connor.[5] The script was among the top 2011 Black List of unproduced screenplays.[6] While originally intended as a drama, the script underwent a "frantic" two-week rewrite to be remade into a comedy several weeks prior to filming.[7]

On November 4, 2015, it was announced that Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson and Gary Oldman were cast in the film, which Jeff Wadlow would direct for Millennium Films. Producers would be Mark Gill, John Thompson, Matt O'Toole and Les Weldon.[8] On February 23, 2016, Élodie Yung and Salma Hayek were cast in the film, which Lionsgate would distribute in the United States.[9] On March 9, 2016, it was reported that Wadlow had exited the film and Patrick Hughes signed on to direct the film.[10][11]

Principal photography on the film began on April 2, 2016, in London, Amsterdam and Sofia.[9][10]

Reception

Box office

As of August 31, 2017, The Hitman's Bodyguard has grossed $44.7 million in the United States and Canada and $21.3 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $65 million, against a production budget of $30 million.[3]

In North America, The Hitman's Bodyguard was released on August 18, 2017 alongside Logan Lucky, and was projected to gross $17–20 million from 3,350 theaters in its opening weekend.[12] The film made $8 million on its first day (including $1.65 million from Thursday night previews).[13] It went on to open to $21.6 million, topping the box office.[14] In its second weekend the film made $10.2 million, finishing first at the box office in what was the combined lowest-grossing weekend since September 2001.[15]

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 40% based on 146 reviews, and an average rating of 5.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Hitman's Bodyguard coasts on Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds' banter—but doesn't get enough mileage to power past an overabundance of action-comedy clichés."[16] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score 47 out of 100, based 41 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[13]

Peter Debruge of Variety gave the film a positive review and called it a pleasant late-summer surprise, writing: "The Hitman’s Bodyguard is about as close to a live-action cartoon as you’re likely to get this year...That’s not a style that works much of the time...but in the hands of The Expendables 3 helmer Patrick Hughes—and more importantly, owing to the chemistry of stars Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds—it makes for a delightfully ridiculous screwball action comedy."[18] Writing for Rolling Stone, Peter Travers praised the cast, giving it 2 stars out of 4 and saying, "Reynolds and Jackson make this summer lunacy go down easy with their banter and bullet-dodging skills. They're the only reason that The Hitman’s Bodyguard doesn't completely sink into the generic quicksand from whence it came."[19]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Film Releases". Variety Insight. Retrieved October 25, 2016.
  2. ^ "The Hitman's Bodyguard". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017)". The Numbers. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  4. ^ Giles, Jeff (August 17, 2017). "The Hitman's Bodyguard Misses the Mark". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  5. ^ Kroll, Justin (May 25, 2011). "Skydance nabs 'The Hitman's Bodyguard'". variety.com. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  6. ^ Finke, Nikki (December 12, 2011). "The Black List 2011: Screenplay Roster". deadline.com. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  7. ^ "Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson Are Your New Favorite Buddy Comedy Duo". Vice Media. August 1, 2017. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  8. ^ Siegel, Tatiana (November 4, 2015). "Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman to Star in 'Hitman's Bodyguard' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  9. ^ a b Jr, Mike Fleming (February 23, 2016). "Ryan Reynolds' 1st Post-'Deadpool' Pic 'Hitman's Bodyguard' Adds Elodie Yung, Salma Hayek, Sam Jackson, Gary Oldman". Deadline. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  10. ^ a b Verhoeven, Beatrice (March 9, 2016). "Ryan Reynolds' 'Hitman's Bodyguard' Lands Director Patrick Hughes". TheWrap. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  11. ^ McNary, Dave (31 March 2017). "CinemaCon: Samuel L. Jackson, Ryan Reynolds Hit Target in 'Hitman's Bodyguard'". Variety.
  12. ^ "'Hitman's Bodyguard' and 'Logan Lucky' Unlikely to Boost Box Office This Weekend". TheWrap. August 15, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
  13. ^ a b D'Allesandro, Anthony. "Looking Under 'Logan Lucky's Hood As 'Hitman's Bodyguard' Stands Tall With $21M Opening". Deadline.com. Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  14. ^ D'Allesandro, Anthony. "'Hitman's Bodyguard' Flexes Muscle With $21M+ Opening During Sleepy Summer Weekend". Deadline.com. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  15. ^ D'Allesandro, Anthony (August 27, 2017). "Don't Blame Hurricane Harvey & Showtime Fight For Weekend's Lousy Box Office: Distribs Served Up Lackluster Titles". Deadline.com.
  16. ^ "The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  17. ^ "The Hitman's Bodyguard reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  18. ^ Peter Debruge (August 10, 2017). "Film Review: 'The Hitman's Bodyguard'". Variety. Retrieved August 11, 2017. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  19. ^ Travers, Peter (August 17, 2017). "'The Hitman's Bodyguard' Review: Samuel L. Jackson, Ryan Reynolds Banter, Get Bloody". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 17, 2017.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Hitman%27s_Bodyguard&oldid=798430240"