The Old Guard 2 Review

Amongst a sea of generic, algorithm-feeding, instantly forgettable Netflix action movies (usually led by a big-name star collecting a big-number paycheck), 2020’s The Old Guard stood out as one of the actual good ones. Charlize Theron as the leader of a team of ancient, immortal mercenaries not only sounded fun and cool on paper, but the movie managed to deliver on that pitch on screen, with some clever lore thrown in for good measure. Now, after a seemingly interminable delay, the sequel is a case of notably diminished returns.

Greg Rucka returns as screenwriter, once more adapting his own comic book series, but this time it feels like too much is being juggled at once. That’s mainly apparent through the two main antagonists. The first movie left off with the reveal that Quynh (Veronica Ngô), the longtime companion (“longtime” meaning centuries in their case) of Charlize Theron’s Andy had somehow finally been freed from the iron maiden she’d been locked inside 500 years before, when she was dumped into the ocean as an accused witch.

Now Quynh, understandably pissed after the anguish she went through as she continually drowned and then came back to life thanks to her immortality, is on a quest for vengeance against all of mankind, putting her at odds with her former friend (and maybe lover? Like in the first film, their dynamic is still kinda vague), Andy. This should be enough for a main plotline, but The Old Guard 2 overcomplicates things with the introduction of a woman known as Discord (Uma Thurman, collecting that paycheck), a previously unknown immortal with her own grudge against humanity.

Thurman’s presence feels like there was a decision made up the food chain to give this movie a bigger hook and boost of star power. And look, is it innately exciting to have Charlize Theron and Uma Thurman square off? Sure! There are compelling parallels between these two talented, statuesque women who both rose to fame in the 1990s and are iconic enough to be instantly identifiable by their first names only – not to mention bring with them previous action movie cred, and that helps make this an intriguing pairing. And yet it feels like it should have been held for a different film, because as is, The Old Guard 2’s actual dramatic weight is about Andy and Quynh’s history and conflict… and Discord is there too, feeling underwritten and extraneous much of the time while rarely actually sharing the screen with Andy.

Unfortunately, Thurman’s performance reflects the thin nature of her character, as she resorts to a lot of snarling, generic bad-guy delivery. And even the inevitable fight between Andy and Discord feels rather ho hum, not helped by giving Thurman a sword – something that will clearly evoke her fantastic fights in the Kill Bill movies — and then not being able to hold a candle to the exciting scenes that Quentin Tarantino provided.

In general, the action in The Old Guard 2 is decent but unremarkable. Director Victoria Mahoney doesn’t match the more stylish flair the first film’s director, Gina Prince-Bythewood, brought to the proceedings, but a couple of sequences do stand out. This includes a well-done fight between Andy and Quynh and some early sequences that have some darkly comedic fun with the idea that Andy’s teammates Joe (Marwan Kenzari) and Nicky (Luca Marinelli) can receive grisly injuries in battle and then be fine moments later. However, Mahoney relies more on a shaky-cam, jittery aesthetic that can sometimes be distracting and diminish the impact of the fight scenes.

The large ensemble cast seem more adrift here, particularly the last film’s big new recruit, Nile (KiKi Layne), and the immortals’ human ally, James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor), both of whom had major story arcs in the first movie but feel much more along for the ride this time out. This feels particularly egregious when you have an actor as fantastic as Ejiofor and he’s really got nothing of note to do. Better served is Matthias Schoenaerts’ Booker, who has some soul searching to go through after he was banished by the others in the last film for a betrayal (again, there are a lot of ongoing plots). Henry Golding also has a large supporting role as yet another immortal, Tuah, who is mostly there to explain backstory that it feels like it could’ve been delivered in more efficient ways.

At the center of it all though, Theron once more proves just what a fantastic leading lady she is, even in a weaker film like this. She continually brings such gravitas and believability to Andy – who lost her immortality at the end of the first film and is now reeling from Quynh’s return – and makes the most of her character’s mixture of angst, inner strength, and impressive physical prowess. Her innate talent, credibility as an action star, and movie star charisma goes a long way to helping The Old Guard 2 through its clunkier moments.

She might’ve been enough to carry it and make it a movie I could lightly recommend, if not for how it ends… or rather, how it doesn’t end. Going far beyond following the first movie’s lead by leaving off with a setup for a sequel, this one ends with an outright cliffhanger in a way that’s meant to be exciting but instead is just frustrating. There’s really no genuine resolution here at all, and given the fact that this film took five years to still come out as muddled as it is, it’s a major miscalculation. There were clearly some troubles behind the scenes (including reshoots last year, after the initial production occurred back in 2022) and you would think maybe the creative team would’ve taken that opportunity to give this movie a proper ending as they worked to fix things and finally complete it. Instead, it seems that Netflix’s bosses just threw up their hands and decided to leave as is.

It’s completely possible we still get The Old Guard 3 and an actual conclusion to this story, if Netflix decides enough people watched this one. Maybe that movie could right the ship and complete a trilogy that stands stronger than the sum of its parts, with a sagging middle propped up by two stronger pillars. But none of us is immortal, so if we have to wait another five years for it, that prospect is a lot less exciting to ponder.