39
Metascore
20 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperChicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperI thought the basic situation in The Bodyguard was intriguing enough to sustain a film all by itself: on the one hand, a star who grows rich through the adulation that fans feel for her, and on the other hand, a working man who, for a salary, agrees to substitute his body as a target instead of hers. Makes you think.
- 60Time Out LondonTime Out LondonJackson's showy technique does little to lighten the over-earnest heroics and ponderous references to samurai, which are punctuated by assorted numbers and costume changes for Houston. Lawrence Kasdan, it seems, mulled over the first draft of his screenplay twenty years ago; it should have been left to languish in development purgatory.
- 40The New York TimesJanet MaslinThe New York TimesJanet MaslinDeep inside the vague, unfocused excesses of The Bodyguard, the tale of a buttoned-down security agent hired to protect a glamorous pop star, there lurks the potential for a compelling film noir.
- 40VarietyBrian LowryVarietyBrian LowryNo wonder this Lawrence Kasdan script has been on the shelf for more than a decade: In the custody of director Mick Jackson, it proves a jumbled mess, with a few enjoyable moments but little continuity or flow.
- 40TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineA dreary, turgid melodrama.
- 30Washington PostRita KempleyWashington PostRita KempleyThe Bodyguard is a classic of show-business hubris, a wondrously trashy belly-flop, proving that no amount of glittering sets and star power can save a story that should have been buried with McQueen.
- 25Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanThe Bodyguard is an outrageous piece of saccharine kitsch — or, at least, it might have been had the movie seemed fully awake. Instead, it’s glossy yet slack; it’s like Flashdance without the hyperkinetic musical numbers and with the romance padded out to a disastrously languid 2 hours and 10 minutes.
- 25Boston GlobeJay CarrBoston GlobeJay CarrThe Bodyguard is a misfire. It's one of those perplexing but complete failures where all the ingredients show up, but somehow manage never to jell into anything convincing. [25 Nov 1992, p.35]
- Perhaps one of the most unbearable viewing experiences of the year, complete with a formulaic script, lousy acting, and muddled direction.