An easy target for critics.

Rating: 7/10 (23 March 2018)

The willingness to sacrifice oneself to save the life of another person is inherently romantic, which is the idea at the centre of The Bodyguard, a two-worlds-collide drama-thriller starring two of the hottest tickets of 1992's film and music scene, Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston.
While it might make an easy target for critics, The Bodyguard is a film that connected well with audiences upon release. Much of that comes down to the perfect storm of three elements; Lawrence Kasdan's script (it rattled around Hollywood for years), Kevin Costner's leading man status and Whitney Houston's incredible vocal performance - particularly the mighty power-ballad 'I Will Always Love You', which ate up the pop charts. These three elements are competently stitched together by British director, Mick Jackson, who captures enough chemistry between the leads to paper over the gaping cracks that emerge.
Costner carries his brand of quiet man chivalry, which gives Houston room to find her character in their scenes, which are always engaging. You can only guess, but it doesn't seem a stretch to imagine the similarities between her character and what her life was like. The writing tries to examine what it's like to live in the cocoon of celebrity, but the direction of the narrative becomes increasingly about the thriller aspect of the story, leaving some, but not much to chew over. When the finale comes, it's a messy combination of awkward positioning and bad logistics, culminating in a predictable, mostly underwhelming conclusion. That said, given the right mood, The Bodyguard is entertaining mainstream cinema, held aloft by its star credentials.