Nick Fury and Deadpool band together in the R-rated action film, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, playing their equally violent counterparts, Darius Kincaid and Michael Bryce. As can be expected of a movie starring both Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds, the film was entertaining from beginning to end, making it a resounding success. Despite the film’s low budget of 30 million dollars, it racked up an astounding 21.3 million dollars in its opening weekend alone. This movie debuted at number one last week, which could mean success for future independent Lionsgate films.

At the beginning of the film, the audience is introduced to the antagonist, Vladislav Dukhovich, former dictator of Belarus who stands accused of crimes against humanity. Unfortunately, every witness but Darius Kincaid, played by Samuel L. Jackson, is too afraid to testify because Dukhovich has assassinated any witness that came forward. However, if Kincaid doesn’t testify within three days, Dukhovich walks free. Kincaid agrees to testify, and is assigned a bodyguard, Ryan Reynolds’ character, Michael Bryce, for protection.  

For me, from the beginning of the film, the plot was easy to follow. The audience is always kept up to date on what is happening chronologically in the movie so that the only moments of surprise are intentional and well placed. The plot was fast-paced and I enjoyed that though it was an action movie, the film didn’t focus on the fighting, but incorporated enough time for the audience to understand each character before all of the chase scenes started. The characters each had an engaging backstory, but the one with the most complexity I felt, was Darius Kincaid.

Darius began as a hitman after his father, a priest, got murdered by a white supremacist. Kincaid then killed the man who murdered his father, which sparked his new career as a hitman. After he became successful, he was contacted by Dukhovich to become a part of an elite team of murderers. Darius refused, but since his curiosity was piqued, he follows Dukhovich to a small town, and witnesses him giving the order to kill a small group of defenseless villagers.

Darius is a curious sort of hitman because he only kills those who he deems deserve it, which leads to his dislike of Bryce. As a bodyguard,  Bryce looks down on hitmen because he believes they’re murderers whose only motive except is money. However, he does not see the fault in his own actions of protecting evil men.

I felt that his backstory can explain almost every action that Darius takes in the film, including everything from his philosophy on why he kills to his dislike of men that kill. It’s a refreshing change of pace from either a cold-blooded or self-righteous killer. Darius is very aware that he kills people, but  sees it as all of their actions catching up to them. The movie spends a good amount of time elaborating on this, but it never feels out of place.

The film showcases multiple action sequences, all of which were directed by Patrick Hughes, who also worked on the fight scenes for The Expendables 3. Even throughout the intense action, the directors still had time to slip in comedic relief, which made the tense scenes seem more ridiculous. The action kept the film fast paced and constantly engaging.

The Hitman’s Bodyguard has a spectacular plot, characters, and action, making the film engaging for everyone in the theater. If you’re looking for a movie with animated action sequences and side-splitting comedy, The Hitman’s Bodyguard is for you.