WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, now in theaters.
One of the running gags throughout The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard is that Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) is often safety-obsessed in an increasingly dangerous and unpredictable world. This chafes against the more violent and chaotic antics of Darius (Samuel L. Jackson) and Sonia (Salma Hayek), and it is often mocked by the pair -- and even other characters. It turns out that The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard is actually willing to explore what made him this way -- and it's a surprisingly tragic origin story for the otherwise unserious film.
In both The Hitman's Bodyguard and The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, Bryce is a safety-obsessed goofball by the various killers, criminals and mercenaries he encounters. He always wears a seat belt and constantly frets over the danger he and others find themselves in. However, the The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard actually takes the time to delve into his origins after he's forced to turn to his step-father, Senior (Morgan Freeman), for assistance. While visiting his Italian villa, he and the Kincaids are given gelato as a dessert. This triggers Bryce, who retreats to the yard to be alone. He's quickly followed by Sonia, and she asks him why the dessert had such an effect on him.
It's revealed that after his mother married Senior, the pair moved to Italy to be with the veteran bodyguard. Bryce was fiercely protective of his mother, doing his best to watch out for her regardless of where they went. Unfortunately, he was distracted at a carnival by the various kinds of gelato that were on sale. Rushing off to get some, the teenaged Bryce was away from his mother when a guest on a ride -- who wasn't wearing his seat belt -- was flung from the ride and directly onto his mother. This in turn sent her flying directly into the path of another attraction, which killed her instantly.
The shock changed Bryce, prompting him to see utmost safety as the ultimate extension of protection. Sitting on a swing in the present-day as he talks to Sonia, it's revealed that even when he's just sitting still, Bryce still has the need to wear his seat belt, just to make sure.
It's a surprisingly tragic origin for the character, painting his desire to be a bodyguard in a different light. Previously, his inability to work as a bodyguard was treated as more of a loss of purpose over anything else, but as Senior explains, becoming a bodyguard gave Bryce the chance to do for others what he wasn't able to do for his mother. It catches Sonia by surprise, and along with his earlier attempts to protect her from gunfire, it inspires a genuine sense of affection in the con-woman for Bryce.
This is partially why Sonia ends up deciding to adopt Bryce at the end of the film, which comes as a shock for Darius and Bryce. Having come to see him as almost a child in need of guidance, she tries to bring him into her family, but coupled with his decision to throw safety out the window and help Darius rescue Sonia, The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard finds a surprising arc for Bryce in his decision to move past the death of his mother once and for all and embrace a more chaotic way of looking at the world -- personified by his decision not to wear a seat belt during a car chase. While the death may be somewhat humorous in the sheer audacity of the event, it's still a shocking turn for The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard to make.
Directed by Patrick Hughes, The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard stars Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek, Antonio Banderas, Morgan Freeman, Frank Grillo, Caroline Goodall, Rebecca Front, Gabriella Wright, Alice McMillan, Kristofer Kamiyasu, Tom Hopper, Blake Ritson and Richard E. Grant. The film is now in theaters.
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