Ryan Reynolds’ Hit Movie Franchise Is Now Free to Stream

By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 1 second ago

For decades, Hollywood tried to make Ryan Reynolds a leading man, oh From Wilder a The Offer to genre price incl RIPDwith mixed results. Reynolds was being recognised, and his star power was rising on the strength of his sarcastic public persona, but it wasn’t until Deadpool that only his name could sell tickets. The Hitman’s Bodyguardhis first job –Deadpool film, proved that being “Ryan Reynolds” on screen was enough to bring in an audience, turning the buddy-action comedy with Samuel L. Jackson into a surprise blow.

The Hitman’s Bodyguard was a Surprise Strike

In The Hitman’s BodyguardReynolds is said to be playing Michael Bryce, a fast-talking, wise-cracking disgraced bodyguard who happens to act and sound a lot like Ryan Reynolds. The task of ensuring that Darius (Jackson), a world-class assassin, arrives in The Hague to testify against the warlord President of Belarus, Dukhovich (Gary Oldman). On the way, they cut off Darius’s wife, Sonia (Salma Hayek), out of prison, go on the run across Europe, and save each other’s lives several times. It’s the standard buddy-comedy road trip plot, but the sheer charm of the two stars elevates it above the paint-by-numbers plot.

The box office total of $176 million may not sound like much compared to Deadpoolbut it was enough to do The Hitman’s Bodyguard the highest-grossing film for three straight weekends when it ended on August 18, 2017. Critical and fan reception were similar, with both groups giving it middling marks on Rotten tomatoes44 percent rotten by critics and only 66 percent favorable by the public. Yet it did well enough to gain a following, and to this day, it is still one of the best buddy comedies of the last decade.

Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard Falling For Every Sequel Trap

As for the sequence, Hitman’s Wife Bodyguardhe flips the script and Sonia recruits Bryce to save Darius. As a trio, the group go up against a manipulative billionaire, played by Antonio Banderasand Bryce’s stepfather, Michael Sr., played by Morgan Freeman, gets in on the action. It’s bigger than the first movie, but not better.

Hitman’s Wife Bodyguard steps into every possible trap for a comedy sequel, from rehashing the same gags to putting back a horn and, as 22 Leap Street he pointed out cruelly, doing the exact same thing again. Released in June 2021, the film bombed in theaters, barely making back its $70 million budget, and to say that critics panned the film would be an understatement, with a rotten 25 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, but fans were delighted, giving her a 79. percent fresh. Comedy is subjective, but there are so few popular Hollywood buddy comedies being made today that even a subpar one is a breath of fresh air and makes for a fun date night movie.

The biggest knock against both films, and there are rumors of a third, is that Ryan Reynolds plays Ryan Reynolds, and Samuel L. Jackson leans into the parody version of Samuel L. Jackson, but the thing is, audiences love that about all of them. The Hitman’s Bodyguard a Hitman’s Wife Bodyguard they’re not high-brow cinema, and they don’t deliver a grand artistic vision, but they’re fun, and sometimes, that’s all you need out of a movie.

Best of all, you can stream both The Hitman’s Bodyguard a Hitman’s Wife Bodyguard free on Amazon Freevee.