Hitman's Bodyguard, The Losers, Our Kind of Traitor

(Some quick looks are more recent movies)

The Hitman’s Bodyguard (2017) – Is this an action movie or a comedy?  That’s the question I kept asking myself.  Oh, and “Why is Ryan Reynolds so flat?”.  This is a really great idea for a movie.  Most of the cast is wonderful (Samuel L. Jackson, Gary Oldman, Selma Hayek), the action is big and goes “Boom” a satisfying number of times, and the banter generally works.  In the end, I came away feeling like it coulda/shoulda been more.  And the focus for that is Reynolds.  He’s OK but only OK.  In between, the movie veers sharply from blood spurting violence and comic touches.  There are several times when it became uncomfortable when it shifted from one to the other.  Make a full-on action movie with a witty edge, or have some fun with the tropes of the genre and make a full-on comedy.  Felt like they never made the decision.  And that cuts into the enjoyment.

Rating – *** Worth A Look

The Losers (2010) – Pretty standard “Black Ops team gets betrayed by the Agency and seeks revenge and vindication” movie.  I was surprised that it was as interesting as it was.  Zoe Saldana is wonderful as the deadly beauty who will kick your a$$ just because.  Idris Elba is his usual solid work.  Chris Evans is having fun doing Chris Evans things. Jason Patric is kind of out there as the villain but somehow it worked for me.  It’s a graphic novel movie that does a nice job with the concepts, especially with the colors of the scenes.  There’s nothing spectacular here, but it held my attention.

Rating – *** Worth A Look

Our Kind of Traitor (2016) – A Russian criminal looks to escape to the west with the help of two tourists.  If you like your spy thrillers to be tense and intelligent, you’re going to enjoy this movie.  If you need lots of explosions and car chases, maybe not so much.  Stellan Skarsgård as the Russian money man and Ewan McGregor as the naive tourist do a brilliant job of carrying along the movie.  It’s classic John le Carré intelligent storytelling partnered with a solid script, acting and directing.  I thought the beginning was a little slow, but once it gets rolling, you won’t be able to take your eyes off the screen.

Rating – **** Recommended