This sequel is only barely passable entertainment – coasting on the back of Ryan Reynolds’ comedic turn.
His tongue-in-cheek comedy delivery as dedicated bodyguard Michael Bryce is pretty much the only thing going for this stale ‘seen-it-all-before’ actioner – that seems to have been cobbled together for a quick pay day for the talent.
Even Antonio Banderas and Morgan Freeman – and Richard E Grant in a continuation cameo from the first film – jump on for the ‘easy ride’.
This time Samuel L Jackson’s assassin Darius Kincaid’s foul-mouthed con-woman wife Sonia (Salma Hayek) – who was a periphery character first time round – joins Bryce as they try to thwart a villainous ‘paint by numbers’ techno-plot from Antonio Banderas’ Greek tycoon Aristotle Papadopolous.
This is after they are hired (via blackmail) by Frank Grillo’s (Crossbones from Captain America: Civil War) Interpol agent to stop Europe’s economy being wiped out in retaliation for the sanctions being imposed on Greece.
Enter a lot of profanity, shoot-outs and car chases that basically pads the film out around its laboured plot. Even Bryce being told by his psychologist not to use weapons – opting for a ‘pepper spray’ in the first half of the film – runs out of steam pretty quick.
If you’re fans of the actors at hand (Reynolds, Jackson etc) it has its handful of moments – but generally this is lacklustre stuff that reeks of laziness. And all Hayek does is swears to the backdrop of tasteless sexual innuendos.
But Reynolds – continuing where he left off from his irreverent comedy grooming in Deadpool – just about prevents this from being cinematic cannon fodder.
ESP Rating: 2.5/5
Gavin Miller
Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough, Out Now
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L Jackson, Salma Hayek, Frank Grillo, Antonio Banderas, Tom Hopper, Caroline Goodall, Richard E Grant & Morgan Freeman
Running Time: 1 Hr 42 Mins
Director: Patrick Hughes
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