Nothing like real horrifying incidents to turn what was meant as a fantasy into a mirror-and that includes the tragic death in Charlottesville. But why did I feel so emotionally depleted by the cartoony chaos unleashed in the name of entertainment by director Patrick Hughes (' The Expendables 3'), when the body count among the mostly anonymous victims of violence-often dispatched in the name of humor-began to balloon to astronomical proportions? The nearly constant annihilation of no-good-niks increasingly gnawed at me considering how much of the vehicular mayhem takes place in cities where terror attacks earlier this year were conducted on major urban thoroughfares-namely, London and Amsterdam.

While no one is going to mistake вЂњThe HitmanвЂ™s BodyguardвЂќ for high art, it will please those in the mood for late-summer fun. But the actors canвЂ™t summon the same kind of heat generated by Jackson and Hayek, who calls her hubby вЂњ La Cucaracha,вЂќ since she says, вЂњHeвЂ™s un-killable.вЂќ

The flashback to their first lusty encounter at a funeral is cut short by the arrival of murderous thugs. Less successful is BryceвЂ™s attempt to reunite with onetime squeeze Amelia (French import Elodie Yung), an Interpol agent whom he blames for getting a client of his shot. The use of Lionel RichieвЂ™s вЂњHelloвЂќ in the background adds a nice romantic touch. Maybe Hayek should book a guest appearance on вЂњOrange is the New Black.вЂќ But one of the best scenes is a flashback showing how Kincaid met Sonia when she was a waitress at a Mexican bar, swooning over how she took care of hand-sy male customers by cutting them with broken beer bottles. Meanwhile, she intimidates her cellmate into standing in the corner. It is a hoot to see the actress calmly strike yoga poses behind bars as she fiercely lashes out like a flame-thrower at any law official stupid enough to hassle her. That doesnвЂ™t even cover the contributions of Hayek, whose Sonia is being kept in a Dutch jail in order to guarantee Kincaid will provide evidence against OldmanвЂ™s baddie. There are in-jokes, such as when Bryce grouses that Kincaid вЂњsingle-handedly ruined the word вЂmotherfucker.'' There are also musical beats, as Kincaid insists on drunkenly singing a bluesy number to pass the time in the car, while Bryce counters by warbling a falsetto version of Ace of BaseвЂ™s вЂњI Saw the Sign.вЂќ And little did I think I would ever see Jackson gleefully harmonizing in a van filled with habit-wearing Italian nuns as if he were trying out for the Mother Superior in вЂњThe Sound of Music.вЂќ My job is to harm.вЂќ Of course, the bodyguard should know that since his passenger has attempted to take him down no less than 28 times over the years. When Bryce complains that Kincaid keeps putting him in harmвЂ™s way, Jackson goes full bellow: вЂњI AM harmвЂ™s way. Luckily, the main dudes are on the ball as they race against the clock during their hazard-prone road trip while turning the art of bickering into a non-stop aria of foul-mouthed mutual belligerence and, eventually, reluctant respect. As the villain, Gary Oldman-sadly, not exactly running on all thespian cylinders-recycles his Russian accent from вЂњ Air Force OneвЂќ while his disfigured face appears to be coated in crusty bread crumbs.

Hearty laughter does ensue as ReynoldsвЂ™ cautious Michael Bryce is forced to keep JacksonвЂ™s reckless Darius Kincaid safe while transporting him from London to the Hague so he can testify against a genocidal Belarusian tyrant. Dwayne Johnson in вЂњ Central Intelligence,вЂќ is the odd-couple matchup. Ryan Gosling in вЂњ The Nice GuysвЂќ and Kevin Hart vs. SmithвЂќ to вЂњ MidnightВ RunвЂќ and вЂњ The Gauntlet.вЂќ But the real draw, much like Russell Crowe vs. Still, the main concept of lethal frenemies who must put aside their grudges for a common goal is a tried-and-true trope, as writer Tom OвЂ™Connor acknowledges with echoes of everything from вЂњ48 HRS.вЂќ and вЂњMr.

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