THE HITMAN'S WIFE'S BODYGUARD

They say two's company and three's a crowd and in this instance, they're 100% right. What made THE HITMAN'S BODYGUARD such a success was the camaraderie and banter between stars Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson. However, with this unnecessary sequel (what else do you expect from Lionsgate studio?) Salma Hayek is shoehorned in to the script and takes over, cutting Jackson's screen time in favor for herself. And while that isn't her fault and she was enjoyable as her supporting role in the original, here, her chemistry doesn't work as well with Reynolds. Constantly screaming to get her point across while spewing bad jokes that aren't near as funny as the original. The film also is too fast paced when it opens, with Reynolds quickly getting thrown out of a therapy session, to being introduced to Frank Grillo's character from Boston who's somehow demoted to being an Interpol agent in Italy (this entire character and his brief subplot could have been cut), to Antonio Banderas' bad Bond villain, Aristotle Papadopolous. The story also has a more ludicrous and over-the-top, convoluted premise than the original involving Aristotle wanting to destroy the entire European power grid as payback for sanctions placed upon his country of Greece. Overall, this is a terrible sequel and I was ready for the credits to roll about the midway point. Hopefully this does bad enough to not entice Lionsgate to make a third entry in the franchise. 4/10