The Hitman's Bodyguard
Lionsgate | Release Date: August 18, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
47
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 42 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
25
Negative:
7
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
We Got This CoveredMatt DonatoAug 17, 2017
As the word “m#th&rf$ck*r” loses meaning, you can’t help but appreciate a wholly predictable – yet unapologetically confident – action goof that’s far funnier than it should be. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsStephen Whitty Aug 16, 2017
The Hitman’s Bodyguard is a movie for anyone who just wants to see Samuel L. Jackson curse, Ryan Reynolds smirk and Salma Hayek kick butt while looking absolutely incredible. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Read full review
60
Time Out LondonAnna SmithAug 16, 2017
The Hitman’s Bodyguard is not exactly killing it, but coasts on the charisma of its central stars. Read full review
60
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeAug 10, 2017
Hitman's Bodyguard offers more than enough shoot-'em-up to keep multiplex auds munching their popcorn, but sharper talents behind the camera might have made it considerably more enjoyable. Read full review
58
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallAug 17, 2017
Director Patrick Hughes' instinct isn't to find dark humor in violence, only to graphically depict it. There's a sadistic edge to The Hitman's Bodyguard that's unbecoming to its comedy. Read full review
58
The PlaylistWill AshtonAug 17, 2017
It’s not an easy movie to love and it’s not an easy movie to hate either. It’s annoyingly, persistently just okay. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyAug 16, 2017
The Hitman’s Bodyguard, which bears the tagline “Get triggered” and is essentially a dumber, tackier "Midnight Run," was destined to be one of those Neanderthalic, faux-merican EuropaCorp action movies, like "The Transporter" or "From Paris With Love" ­­— except fate fumbled, and the film ended up as a coasting-on-star-power Hollywood programmer directed by The Expendables 3’s Patrick Hughes. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyLeah GreenblattAug 10, 2017
The Hitman’s Bodyguard is strictly an Economy Coach experience, but it’s brainlessly fun enough in a late-’90s Brett Ratner buddy-comedy kind of way. Read full review
55
TheWrapAlonso DuraldeAug 10, 2017
The cast seems game, and perhaps they realize it’s on them to elevate the material, so the scenes between Reynolds and Jackson have some genuine snap to them, even though the dialogue and characterization are barely memorable. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Kate TaylorAug 17, 2017
This is Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote territory. How are we to reconcile such images with righteous vengeance wreaked on a genocidal war criminal? Not even a busload of popes could make moral sense of this one. Read full review
50
Wall Street JournalJohn AndersonAug 17, 2017
The Hitman’s Bodyguard would have been much funnier because, on paper, Tom O’Connor’s script was probably a scream. What adds to the unevenness of the whole affair is a propensity for extreme violence that just seems incompatible with what is ostensibly a comedy. Read full review
50
USA TodayBrian TruittAug 17, 2017
The combination of the two showcases fun chemistry and antics, although surrounded by a formulaic narrative that action junkies have all seen before. Read full review
50
Rolling StonePeter TraversAug 17, 2017
Reynolds and Jackson make this summer lunacy go down easy with their banter and bullet-dodging skills. They're the only reason that The Hitman’s Bodyguard doesn't completely sink into the generic quicksand from whence it came. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsAug 17, 2017
The result is passable stupidity leaning hard on its wily leading men. The movie’s also pretty galling in its unceasing brutality for laughs. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAug 16, 2017
An end-of-summer burst of adrenaline, The Hitman’s Bodyguard promises nothing more and nothing less. Read full review
50
The Film StageDan MeccaAug 16, 2017
The tone is playful, to be sure, but it’s hard to see past the collateral damage. Blame it on the times. Make no mistake, all of this could be forgiven if The Hitman’s Bodyguard had enough laughs. It does not. Read full review
50
Paste MagazineTim GriersonAug 16, 2017
An assembly line of ostensibly “hip” gestures and snarky attitude, The Hitman’s Bodyguard wants very badly to be a naughty, R-rated guilty pleasure. Nobody tell its makers that it’s mostly just mildly boring. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. ScottAug 16, 2017
It occupies its genre niche — the exuberantly violent Euro-action movie-star paycheck action comedy — without excessive cynicism or annoying pretension. Read full review
50
Movie NationRoger MooreAug 16, 2017
Laugh-out-loud funny? Yes. It’s just a pity that the “more is better” bodycount sours the picture long before its drawn-out ending spoils the punchline. Read full review
50
Screen DailyNikki BaughanAug 10, 2017
By betting everything on the chemistry between its two leads, a tired formula and by-the-numbers action, The Hitman’s Bodyguard misses the mark. Read full review
42
IndieWireDavid EhrlichAug 15, 2017
A half-assed action-comedy that lacks the courage to commit to its own premise. Read full review
40
VoxAlissa WilkinsonAug 31, 2017
The Hitman’s Bodyguard is strangely soulless, particularly for a movie that wants to be about murder, morality, and revenge. Those elements are there only to serve up the appearance of a smart film, when The Hitman’s Bodyguard would have been better served by sticking to pure action and stupid humor. Read full review
40
The GuardianMike McCahillAug 24, 2017
For an action-comedy, its timing is lousy. Read full review
40
EmpireIan FreerAug 23, 2017
The leads work hard and there’s an attempt to add fun via cheesy music and Salma Hayek, but hackneyed dynamics, half-baked action sequences and saying “m#th&rf$ck*r” does not a Shane Black make. Read full review
40
Total FilmNeil SmithAug 15, 2017
Two characters, who you won’t like, insulting each other for two hours. Give it a miss and rewatch Midnight Run instead. Read full review
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