The Old Guard was a pleasant surprise when it was released on Netflix in 2020, introducing a team of immortal assassins who traveled the world saving people before finding a new recruit and helping her navigate eternal life. It felt fresh and different so the sequel finally arriving five years later feels like another potential treat for movie fans.
The Old Guard 2 picks up where its predecessor left off as Andy (Charlize Theron) and her team of immortals Joe (Marwan Kenzari), Nicky (Luca Marinelli), and Nile (KiKi Layne), with new addition former CIA agent James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) are determined to protect the world. They’ll face a new challenge as Andy’s old flame Quynh (Veronica Ngô) has been freed from her submerged Iron Maiden by the mysterious figure Discord (Uma Thurman) and is now out for revenge. Andy enlists the help of her old friend Tuah (Henry Golding) who may provide the key to unlocking the mystery behind immortal existence while she also grapples with her newfound mortality.
When it comes to fulfilling its duty as an action flick that you can enjoy from the comfort of your couch, The Old Guard 2 delivers capably. The action scenes are plentiful with the movie even opening with an elongated sequence featuring the entire team. They are pretty well choreographed even though they feel typical of what you’d expect in a film of this nature and the cinematography is equally sterile. And therein lies the underlying problem with this sequel; while entertaining on the whole, The Old Guard 2 feels more like a traditional, by-the-numbers action flick than something new and fresh like its predecessor which equals to it being a slight step backward rather than forward for the franchise.
The most glaring example of this is its plot and story beats. In the first film, the villain Steven Merrick (Harry Melling) had the topical, socially relevant motivation of corporate greed and ethics that made him an interesting foil with some added depth. In this follow-up, Discord is an ancient threat out to kill the team in a quest for gaining power. It’s an archetype typical of the genre and not something as relevant as the villain from the first. To add to the problem, the movie doesn’t spend nearly as much time fleshing her out, or having her appear much at all, in order to establish her someone the audience is invested in seeing battle the protagonists. The movie has a similar problem with the character Quynh who returns from the post-credit scene at the end of the first movie. While we know she’s upset with Andy for abandoning her for centuries, her motivation for following Discord and her plans isn’t well explained at all.
When considered on its own, The Old Guard 2 isn’t a bad movie at all and is a decent action sci-if flick, especially one you can stream for free at home. But when evaluated outside of that specific vacuum and alongside its predecessor, the movie just doesn’t reach the same heights as something that felt different and new five years ago. The action is serviceable, not unremarkable, and the production design and cinematography feel uninspired and bland. You aren’t exactly wasting your time with this one, but you’re not being pulled into an interesting world either. When viewed in complete context, it’s more disappointment than excitement.
Image: Netflix
