Ryan Reynolds. Samuel L. Jackson. Comedy. Is there likely to be anything here that doesn't work? Having seen the film, the answer is no.
Essentially, we're in buddy cop territory here. Ryan Reynolds is a disgraced bodyguard, Samuel L. Jackson is a hired killer with a heart. They fight crime. By which I mean testify as an impressively cruel dictator, played with impressive menace by Gary Oldman.
This is split rather evenly between comedy and thriller territory, with the two leading men playing very nicely against one another, with Jackson's bombastic nature contrasting well with Reynold's more dry style. Supporting cast were also fun, especially Salma Hayek as Jackson's equally violent and sweary wife, who chewed the scenery impressively enough that she gave our deuteragonists a run for their money. I was hoping to see more of Elodie Yung beating people up, following her run on Daredevil, but she was unfortunately relegated to mostly love interest. And Richard E. Grant was also there. Possibly just so people would get their "oh, it's him" moment. Those are always fun.
The thrill comes in heavy, with shedloads of shooting, car chases all over the place and a frankly silly number of explosions. I can only assume all the cars in this are made of explodium. It's good action, though, with only one instance of terrible green screen (it's the vodka drinking bit, trust me you can't miss it) and again a reasonable amount of silliness in it.
Fair warning, it has a lot of mother-effing swearing. But, then again, what do you expect from Samuel L. Mother-effing Jackson? It's a thing.
One for the fans of Georgie Glen (who unfortunately doesn't do any shooting) or fans of singing nuns.
Highly recommended.
Tagged: Film Action comedy Guns and explosions Fiction Cinema