The Old Guard 2 review

THE OLD GUARD 2: 

A TEDIOUS AND SURPRISINGLY DULL CONTINUATION OF 2020 NETFLIX ACTION FILM! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** out of 4

NETFLIX

Charlize Theron in The Old Guard 2

 

            Charlize Theron (Monster, Mad Max: Fury Road, Atomic Blonde) and KiKi Layne (If Beale Street Could Talk, Captive State, Don’t Worry Darling) are back as immortals, Andy and Nile in The Old Guard 2, the much anticipated sequel to the 2020 Netflix superhero film, The Old Guard based on the graphic novel series of the same name. I thought the first movie was alright though I hadn’t thought about it since 2020, but I remembered liking it and thought it was an interesting take on superheroes, less The Avengers and more like M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable if I had to compare it to something. 

            Clearly it must have been a big hit for Netflix especially since it came out while everyone was locked inside their homes so now we have a sequel once again produced by Netflix and Skydance, but this time with Victoria Mahoney (Yelling to the Sky) taking over directing duties from Gina Prince-Bythewood. I was curious about the sequel even if the first movie went in one ear and out the other for me, but I’m always down for more Charlize Theron kicking ass, what’s not to love about that? 

            So, I put the movie on, gave it a watch, and…it’s not as good as the first in fact, it’s even more forgettable than the first. The Old Guard 2 strips what made the original unique and replaces it with extensive and tedious lore and exposition and an unfocused narrative, it just feels like a sequel that was strung together because the first movie was popular. 

            The film follows Andy (Theron) and her team of immortal warriors still on their mission of protecting the world. But when Andy’s former teammate and lover, Quỳnh (Victoria Ngô-Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny, The Princess, The Creator) escapes her underwater prison seeking revenge courtesy of the first immortal, Discord (Uma Thurman-Pulp Fiction, Gattaca, Kill Bill 1 and 2), Andy, Nile (Layne), Joe (Marwan Kenzari-Wolf, Aladdin (2019), Black Adam), Nicky (Luca Marinelli-The Great Beauty, Don’t Be Bad, Diabolik), and James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor-12 Years a Slave, Doctor Strange 1 and 2, The Life of Chuck) enlist the help of Tuah (Henry Golding-Crazy Rich Asians, A Simple Favor, Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins), an old friend who may hold the key to unlocking the mystery behind their immortal existence. 

            The film also stars Matthias Schoenaerts (Black Book, Rust and Bone, The Mustang) reprising his role as Booker. 

            Overall, The Old Guard 2 is a prime example of an uninspired sequel that was made only because its predecessor was a success and to set up future movies in the franchise. I’m not saying the first Old Guard was a great movie, but at least it had something going for it and it did explore this society of super-people that can’t die with decent world building. 

            This one leans right into lore and tedious exposition at the cost of a captivating story and good character development. Outside of Charlize Theron I didn’t give a shit about any of the characters in this because the majority of them aren’t given much to do here and often take a backseat for exposition dumping complete with “Important whispering”. 

            The sad part is there are a few interesting ideas being explored, but not enough time is devoted to them like Henry Golding’s character keeping record of all the immortals throughout history in a Doctor Strange-like sanctum and Uma Thurman’s Discord’s backstory. I would have liked to have seen more of those, but they’re shoehorned in with a bunch of other underdeveloped plot points. 

            I also felt there needed to be more time with Charlize Theron’s Andy and Victoria Ngô’s Quỳnh together as that was the emotional anchor of the film it seemed. But aside from a couple scenes early on and a scene during the climax, they don’t do much with this which honestly makes me favor the Peter Parker VS Harry Osborn conflict in Spider-Man 3 because despite that movie being overstuffed, that aspect was more focused and they had plenty of scenes together to make it work. 

            The acting is fine with Charlize Theron obviously being the biggest name attached to it, even in lackluster material, she’ll always find a way to give a strong performance with this being no exception. Uma Thurman’s a pretty enjoyable villain and thankfully not an embarrassing one like her Poison Ivy from Batman & Robin, but she seems to enjoy chewing on her hammy dialogue while still posing a genuine threat. 

            The action scenes are more of the same from the first and for the most part they’re shot and choreographed well with the best being a full-on duel between Charlize and Uma, Furiosa VS The Bride, fuck yeah! I may have thought this movie was a dull slog, but I am grateful to have been gifted this glorious moment. 

            But yeah, aside from a few interesting ideas, decent action scenes, and fine performances, The Old Guard 2 is a lackluster and surprisingly dull continuation of the first movie that focuses more on franchise-building rather than telling a good story. The movie ends on a damn cliffhanger so I am assuming we’ll be getting an Old Guard 3 in the coming years, but if it’s anything like this second installment, no thanks!