The Old Guard 2

Squandering what goodwill and affection viewers may have for the 2020 original film, this sequel doesn’t have nearly as much invention, wastes the talents of its cast, and most disappointingly, only tells two-thirds of a story.

Premise:  Andy (Charlize Theron) continues to lead her team of immortals despite having now become a mortal herself – but the return of her former love Quỳnh (Veronica Ngô), and the arrival of a mysterious new figure (Uma Thurman), soon put Andy’s team in the crosshairs.

Review:

I should start off by saying that I really quite enjoyed 2020’s The Old Guard – I gave it 4-stars and said that it combined impressive action sequences with decent character development to great success, and was one of the better original action blockbusters of the last couple of years.  However, The Old Guard 2 is such a disappointment that it almost makes me question whether I overcompensated with the original because we were so starved of blockbuster entertainment during the 2020 lockdowns...

Whereas the original film had a surprising amount of character moments and a plot that threw in a few unexpected twists, the sequel unfortunately has neither.  The film hurtles along at such a pace that you never get time for any real character development, so much so that certain character decisions feel rushed or unearned (especially if you’ve not recently seen the original film).

“…this film is literally missing a third act…”

At the same time, not a lot actually happens plot-wise in The Old Guard 2, and most unforgivably, the film just ends at what is effectively the end of ‘Act 2’.  In the traditional three act structure, Act 1 is the ‘set up’, Act 2 is the ‘confrontation’, and Act 3 is the ‘resolution’ – and importantly, even films that end on cliffhangers or which want to pave the way for a sequel will still follow the three act structure (just look at Avengers: Infinity War or Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse for example).

In The Old Guard 2, the first half of the film includes an opening action sequence (which is, in fairness, very well staged) and then introduces a few new characters and some important new lore, before concluding with a pivotal plot revelation (marking the end of ‘Act 1’ in the traditional structure).  The second half of the film then closely follows the traditional ‘Act 2’ format, i.e. showing the protagonist’s attempts to deal with the plot point revealed at the end of ‘Act 1’, only for the protagonist to ultimately find themselves in ever worsening situations before facing a crisis at the climax of ‘Act 2’.  Now I need to be clear that I’m not a reviewer who usually gets hung up on “structural” issues regarding the “mechanics” of the screenplay – but this film is literally missing an ‘Act 3’.  Instead, after the ‘end of Act 2' crisis, it has a coda setting up the stakes for ‘Act 3’ ... and then if just abruptly ends.

“…a waste of an impressive cast…”

If Netflix eventually decide to make a third Old Guard movie, then at that point, we might be able to view The Old Guard 2 as a disappointing-but-necessary interlude between the first and third films – but at this stage, Netflix have not announced any plans for the third Old Guard movie (it certainly wasn’t, for example, filmed back-to-back with the second movie).  But even if a third movie does eventually follow, it's still no excuse for not providing a satisfying movie-going experience with the second chapter – just look at The Empire Strikes Back or Back to the Future Part II for example of how it should be done.  As matters currently stand – with no third Old Guard movie on its way – there is little reason to recommend watching The Old Guard 2.

Which is a shame, as the movie is a waste of an impressive cast.  Charlize Theron is as great as ever, but she’s really the only one who gets enough material to really get her teeth into.  Veronica Ngo, Matthias Schoenaerts and KiKi Layne get a fair bit to work with as the immortals Quỳnh, Booker and Nile, but their character arcs (such as they are) still feel quite rushed – while the talents of Chiwetel Ejiofor and Uma Thurman are completely underutilised.  Uma Thurman, in particular, shows that she has the potential to be a formidable screen villain ... but her character is effectively only teased in this movie.  Meanwhile, poor Henry Golding is saddled with the exposition-delivering role, and although he does try to inject some life into it, it still feels like it’s screentime that could have been used to flesh out some of the other characters more (poor Nicky and Joe are almost completely overlooked).

“…a third film might redeem the series…”

Despite still including some very well choreographed action sequences, this film can’t overcome the underwhelming sense of disappointment that hits when the end credits begin to roll.  A big part of me hopes that Netflix does make a third film, in order to redeem the series that started off so well, to allow the excellent cast an opportunity to showcase their talents, and to enable Uma Thurman’s big bad villain to live up to her (as yet only hinted at) potential ... but until then, I don’t imagine I’ll ever want to revisit The Old Guard 2 again (which is a shame).