The 2017 action-comedy The Hitman’s Bodyguard was not a hit among critics (43 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) or the box office ($176.6 million worldwide), but it did well enough to get a sequel. Now, normally I would complain about Hollywood attempting yet another unnecessary sequel, but that does not apply to Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard. (What a tough title to say out loud. Try it. I trip over the double possessive every time.) Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson are back as the bodyguard and the hitman, respectively, and they had good chemistry in the original, but my excitement comes from the new member to the team: Salma Hayek, as Jackson’s “international con artist” wife. She can teach the boys a thing or two about getting the job done. And owls. Mostly owls.
Here’s the official plot summary:
The world’s most lethal odd couple – bodyguard Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) and hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson) – are back on another life-threatening mission. Still unlicensed and under scrutiny, Bryce is forced into action by Darius’s even more volatile wife, the infamous international con artist Sonia Kincaid (Salma Hayek). As Bryce is driven over the edge by his two most dangerous protectees, the trio get in over their heads in a global plot and soon find that they are all that stand between Europe and a vengeful and powerful madman (Antonio Banderas). Joining in the fun and deadly mayhem is Morgan Freeman as… well, you’ll have to see.
Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, which also stars Antonio Banderas, Morgan Freeman, Frank Grillo, Caroline Goodall, Rebecca Front, Gabriella Wright, Alice McMillan, Kristofer Kamiyasu, Tom Hopper, Blake Ritson, and Richard E. Grant, comes out on June 16.