Directed by: Patrick Hughes
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek, Frank Grillo, Richard E. Grant, Antonio Banderas, Morgan Freeman
Distributed by: Lionsgate
Running time: 100 minutes
Film – 3 out of 5 stars
Blu-Ray – 4 out of 5 stars
The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard is the sequel to the 2017 film The Hitman’s Bodyguard, which was surprisingly a ton of fun due to its fun action sequences and great chemistry with its cast. While the sequel doesn’t necessarily do anything radically different with the formula and it doesn’t quite hit the same heights of entertainment value as the original, it still remains an entertaining time due to the talent and comradery between everyone involved.
That being said, one thing the film does consistently well is balancing the comedy with action, and with an action-packed movie like The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard it’s imperative that the picture and sound quality on the 4K Blu-Ray is up to standard. Sometimes the color grading with these things can feel a bit off or even the great surround sound of the theatrical experience doesn’t transfer over properly, but in the case of this film, I actually think this is one of the rare ones that surpasses the theatrical experience and adds greater colors/sounds to the mix.
As I previously stated, this film is action-packed so there’s plenty of moments where explosions go off and the characters are caught in the middle of gunfire. All of these moments pop very nicely and genuinely wowed me at points. But the aspect of the Blu-Ray that I was the most impressed by was the audio. The conversion here is so amazing and dynamic that it gave me a newfound appreciation for the sound design in this movie. From the gunfire to the way the music is stitched into the narrative, it’s wildly impressive and this Blu-Ray just elevates it greatly.
Even though the Blu-Ray surpassed my expectations in terms of presentation, I wouldn’t put this up with some of the finest films I’ve watched on the format like Blade Runner 2049 or 2001: A Space Odyssey – but… obviously it was never going to! The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard is genuinely just a ton of fun to watch and played greatly on a rewatch for me, and the quality here genuinely did a lot to elevate the experience. It’s well worth adding to your collection!