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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Hitman's Bodyguard, The (Blu-ray) (2017)

Hitman's Bodyguard, The (Blu-ray) (2017)

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Released 29-Nov-2017

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Action Comedy Audio Commentary-Director Patrick Hughes
Outtakes-(5:22)
Deleted Scenes-Extended / Alternate Scenes (11:28)
Featurette-The Hitman’s Bodyguard: A Love Story (8:55)
Featurette-Hitman vs. Bodyguard (4:22)
Featurette-Dangerous Women (8:21)
Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Big Action in a Big World (7:52)
Rating Rated MA
Year Of Production 2017
Running Time 117:58
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 1,2,3,4,5,6 Directed By Patrick Hughes
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Ryan Reynolds
Samuel L. Jackson
Elodie Yung
Gary Oldman
Salma Hayek
Kirsty Mitchell
Sam Hazeldine
Tine Joustra
Rod Hallett
Case Standard Blu-ray
RPI ? Music Atli Örvarsson


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English DTS HD Master Audio 5.1
English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.40:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 1080p
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

     Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) is a AAA Executive Protection Agent (aka. high level bodyguard), but two years after an important client was assassinated before his eyes Michael has lost his girlfriend, Interpol agent Amelia Roussel (Elodie Yung), and has been reduced to taking any work he can get. In The Hague former president of Belarus Dukhovich (Gary Oldman) is on trial at the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity but the potential witnesses keep disappearing and it looks as if he may walk free. In Manchester professional hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L Jackson) is in custody but is offered a deal by Interpol; Darius has information that will convict Dukhovich and if he will travel to The Hague and testify his wife Sonia (Salma Hayek), currently in prison in The Netherlands, will be released.

     Amelia is placed in charge of an elite squad of Special Forces soldiers tasked with transporting Darius to The Hague. But there is a mole within Interpol, and their route is leaked to Dukhovich and his associates. Heavily armed men ambush the convey; there are many casualties but Amelia and Darius escape to an Interpol safe house. Realising that there is a leak within Interpol, Amelia calls the one man who is off the grid to help get Darius to The Hague: her ex-boyfriend Michael. But Michael and Darius have a lot of history; they may be able to cooperate to get to The Hague, fighting off Dukhovich’s men on the way, but only if they don’t kill each other first!

     The Hitman’s Bodyguard is directed by Australian Patrick Hughes (Red Hill (2010), The Expendables 3 (2014)) and he does an excellent job. This is a very slickly directed film that speeds along and the action, and there is a lot of action, is chaotic, intense, loud, explosive and varied with shoot outs in narrow streets and in houses, car chases, and even a car, bike and motor boat sequence in Amsterdam. The film is also frequently very funny, and I laughed out loud more often than I can remember in an action film. This has a lot to do with the excellent cast. Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool 2016)) is the uptight straight man in this mismatched “buddy” movie but his deadpan comic timing is spot on, playing a delightful spoil to the over the top, but very laid back, Samuel L Jackson who is having a whale of a time. Salma Hayek, with limited screen time, effortlessly steals every second as Darius’ very feisty wife while Gary Oldman is, as ever, an excellent villain.

     CallumK recently reviewed the 4K Blu-ray release of The Hitman’s Bodyguard on this site here and I can only say that I totally agree with his assessment. The Hitman’s Bodyguard is a ripper of an action film; it is unpretentious, slick, action packed, funny and very entertaining. And having Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L Jackson, Salma Hayek and Gary Oldman all in fine form does not hurt either.

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Transfer Quality

Video

     The Hitman’s Bodyguard is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, in 1080p using the MPEG-4 AVC code.

     Detail in exterior sequences is strong, and close-ups are also generally fine, blacks solid. Colours are natural although not really vibrant for the most part although there were some nice fly overs of London and Amsterdam. To me the issue was glare. In many interior sequences, such as at 8:29 or during the court room scenes, the light source behind the actor produced a noticeable glare which effected sharpness and contrast and which I did find distracting. Otherwise, marks and artefacts were absent.

     English subtitles for the hearing impaired are available. Small white subtitles also automatically translate the Russian, French and Spanish dialogue.

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     Audio is English DTS-HD MA 5.1. The English descriptive audio and English commentary are both Dolby Digital 2.0.

     I have no issues with the audio, however, which is enveloping and aggressive. Right from the sequence during the opening credits the sound stage is full of engines, doors opening and closing and panning effects as a helicopter flies overhead. During the action engines roar, shots whizz overhead or ricochet, cars or bodies impact and the panning is frequent loud enough to make one instinctively duck! However, throughout the mayhem dialogue is always clear. The subwoofer perfectly supported the explosions, impacts and engines.

     The original score by Atli Orvarsson drove the action along. It was not subtle, but neither is the film! The score was supported by a diverse range of songs by the likes of Lionel Richie, Foreigner, Leadbelly and Chuck Berry while Samuel L Jackson also proves that he can indeed carry a tune!

     There are no lip synchronisation issues.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

     There are mostly EPK type featurettes.

Outtakes (5:22)

     The usual goofs and stuff ups. Included is the outtake that also occurs at the end of the main end titles.

Deleted / Extended / Alternative Scenes (11:28)

     Ten scenes at various stages of production, some with greenscreen. The final one is an alternative ending.

The Hitman’s Bodyguard: A Love Story (8:55)

     The director Patrick Hughes and writer Tom O’Connor confirm that the film is essentially a romance / buddy movie (bromance if you will) between the characters played by Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L Jackson. The two actors, the director, writer, producer and other cast members Gary Oldman, Salma Hayek and Elodie Yung, with some on-set footage, discuss the chemistry between the leads and the differences in their characters.

Hitman vs. Bodyguard (4:22)

     A brief montage of film clips emphasising the contrast between the characters of the two leads.

Dangerous Women (8:21)

     In this film the women can be as formidable as the men: Salma Hayek and Elodie Yung talk about their characters and the roles.

Big Action in a Big World (7:52)

     The director, writer, producer, the cast and the stunt coordinator (Greg Powell) talk about the stunts and shooting in Bulgaria and Amsterdam. With film clips and on-set footage.

Director’s Commentary

     Director Patrick Hughes is a chatty, humorous speaker who talks non-stop about his intentions, locations, the cast and improvisations, the stunts, editing and the chemistry between the leads. He also adds some anecdotes about the shoot; the result is an excellent entertaining commentary.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

     The Region A US Blu-ray of The Hitman’s Bodyguard contains the same extras and video as our release. The difference is in the audio as the US Blu-ray carries a Dolby Atmos / Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track. This was on our 4K Blu-ray, but this standard Blu-ray is provided with only a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track. Of itself, this is an excellent track, but of course if you are set up for Atmos the US release would be the better option. If you are not 7.1 compatible, our Blu-ray is fine.

Summary

     The Hitman’s Bodyguard may not be high art, yet it has an old fashioned feel with many of the stunts done for real (the outtake which shows a car accidentally crashing into a tram says it all). It is an action movie, and a buddy film that is frequently very funny. With a top notch cast all in good form, this is a blast from start to finish, and very entertaining indeed.

     The video is fine except for the glare and audio great. The extras are mostly EPK but the commentary is welcome.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Ray Nyland (the bio is the thing)
Friday, December 22, 2017
Review Equipment
DVDSony BDP-S580, using HDMI output
DisplayLG 55inch HD LCD. This display device has not been calibrated. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderNAD T737. This audio decoder/receiver has not been calibrated.
AmplificationNAD T737
SpeakersStudio Acoustics 5.1

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