Salma Hayek is no stranger to the action genre, having broken out over 25 years ago in Robert Rodriguez’s Desperado before going on to star in spectacle-driven projects like box office bomb Wild Wild West, violent thriller Everly and the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s upcoming Eternals, but Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard features the actress as audiences may have never seen her before.
Reprising her minor role from the first film as Sonia Kincaid, Hayek becomes the third spoke on the wheel alongside Samuel L. Jackson as her husband Darius and Ryan Reynolds’ beleaguered bodyguard Michael Bryce in the R-rated buddy sequel, which arrives in theaters today. The actress is a force of nature from the second she first appears in the pic, gunning down countless henchmen while spouting some seriously foul-mouthed obscenities along the way, which is pretty much her entire contribution to the first act.
Reynolds and Jackson generated plenty of chemistry in The Hitman’s Bodyguard, but even those two actors with their penchant for creative profanity are shrinking violets in comparison to Hayek’s gonzo performance as the terrifying matriarch of the unlikely traveling party. The recently released clip above unfolds within the first ten minutes of the sequel, and gives you a pretty good indication of where things go from there, and it’s a tone that director Patrick Hughes and his cast maintain right through to the closing credits.
It would be foolish to bet against Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard topping the domestic box office this weekend, unless A Quiet Place Part II can hold on for a fourth consecutive frame, but a good old fashioned buddy road trip with a modern sheen and plenty of star power should be more than enough to draw in the crowds.