Directed By Victoria Mahoney

Starring – Charlize Theron, Kiki Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts

The Plot – Andy (Theron) and her team of immortal warriors continue their mission to protect humanity. This time, they have to face off against a formidable new foe who threatens the very fabric of the Old Guard, while also dealing with the return of an immortal who was thought to be long lost.

Rated R for sequences of graphic violence, and some adult language.

The Old Guard 2 | Official Trailer | Netflix

POSITIVES

Much has changed about this franchise in the five years since its original installment, in terms of quality and ambition, however the lived-in chemistry between its decorated ensemble is still the very heartbeat that keeps this series alive, with each of them imbedding so much charming personality and connective tissue in their respective portrayals. The best of these is easily Schoenaerts, who not only gets to show off some legitimate dramatic chops, within a guilty conscience that constantly persists in the dimensions of the character, but also serves as the elephant in the room that with him around sews these elements of unpredictability by his presence, inspiring audiences to keep an eye on him at all times, after the devious actions that unloaded a solid twist during the first film. On top of this, Kiki Layne receives a more expansive opportunity, this time around, showcasing physicality and screen presence in ways that allow her to stand out among her peers, all the while riding the unique perspective of being the last of the immortals. Beyond the leads, the film’s script also digs slightly deeper to the depths of its fascinating concepts in world-building, which uncovers some unexplored pasts between our character dynamics, while also clueing us into the magic that goes into immortality. While these aspects are realized with long-winded exposition dumps of the most obviously predictable nature, they still go a long way towards articulating some much needed emotionality for the franchise that takes its characters waist deep in some pretty dramatic waters, in turn alleviating it from feeling like just another action-heavy offering to the tortured Netflix library. Lastly, the production’s globetrotting excursions grant a lot of natural beauty to a film that is otherwise cloaked in artificiality, with gorgeous imagery and on-site locational variety that make up a majority of the film’s rumored 90 million dollar budget. Aside from offering some stylistically stunning establishing shots for the movie’s presentation, the imagery conveys worldwide tangibility to many of the conflicts and stakes tapped into throughout the film, outlining a vividly grander stage to what’s ultimately at stake, with cinematographer Barry Ackroyd returning once again to elicit a bigger and bolder vision to the movie’s integrity.

NEGATIVES

After a career made up almost entirely of television productions, Victoria Mahoney eagerly slides into the director’s chair for her most ambitious opportunity to date, and while it’s unfair to ever judge a book by its original cover, it’s clear that her inexperience towards titanic productions hinders so much about what made the first film an entertaining engagement, with a constantly stilted execution that feels lifted directly from the small screen in a variety of frustrating ways. Being that our main protagonist, Andy, is now dealing with the terrifying realities of living mortal, for the first time in her life, I was expecting some urgency and vulnerability to persist in the air of her actions, but it’s never explored in ways that feel palpably tender to the story’s beneficial integrity, instead steering Theron as more of the dangerously confident veteran that we’ve come to expect from the character, instead of a tenderly frail or withering warrior whose struggle to survive could effortlessly elicit some much-needed tension to the proceedings. On top of this, Mahoney’s presentation constantly feels like an episode of “24”, with unceremoniously zoomed-in pans during character dialogue, emitting a mockumentary style captivity that was every bit distracting unnecessary as it was stylistically meandering. Mahoney’s action also falls a bit suspect, with four sequences throughout the movie’s 100-minute duration falling anywhere between passably fine to erratically painful, as a result of techniques behind and in front of the lens that never enthralled me with any kind of suspense or energy to leave me faithfully invested to what’s transpiring on-screen. Between outdated shaking-camera concepts, overly indulgent editing, heavily telegraphed fight choreography, and overwhelming artificiality in the special effects department, the sequences waste away its most vitally endearing moments with execution that struggles with incoherence, making it difficult to not only register just what is transpiring between sides, but also how so many of these compromising visuals ever made it through two edits in post-production without somebody deciding more work is needed on its finished product. Up to this point, it may seem like I’m picking on Mahoney, but the reality is she’s not alone on what made this movie such an arduous chore, with the script falling just as surface level flat as every visual that proceeds it. With a litany of characters and fascinating subplots, the film has all of the opportunity in the world to conjure something entertainingly stimulating, but instead it never approaches anything with faithful commitment or perseverance in ways that make them feel satisfyingly fleshed-out, giving the bulk of the storytelling a choppy consistency, without anything in the way of a solid foundation for the audience to remain invested towards. This is felt the loudest with the movie’s antagonist (Played by Uma Thurman, no less), who receives these sporadic instances where the movie distances itself from her character, despite so many of the plot’s links revolving around her. The lack of depiction clearly makes it feel like Thurman shot all of her scenes in two days of production, but more importantly than that, wastes away the performance of an established veteran that could turn the tide of momentum in the movie’s favor, making it feel like literally anybody could’ve portrayed this distinguished character, just as long as they lack any of Thurman’s menace or charisma, the likes of which the movie never utilizes anyway. The script also audaciously feels like a commercial for a bigger third effort within the franchise, in which it really only uses this installment to build for an epic showdown, instead of satisfyingly resolves the arcs or conflicts initiated in this secondary chapter, with an unfinished ending that should serve as the alienating point for anyone even toxically curious just what the third movie will have in store. While “The Old Guard 2” isn’t the first film to cater all of its creative efforts towards a future installment, it is one that does so without tying up the loose ends of what’s in front of it, and as a result the film simply feels like it regretfully runs out of time, instead of properly ends, resulting in a last shot that effortlessly subscribes to the audience audibly asking “That’s it?”. Finally, while I’ve covered the superior side of the performances, it’s ultimately Theron and Thurman who surprisingly can’t be bothered to invest any kind of energy or emotionality to their respective portrayals, brandishing two phone-in portrayals who each feel like they knew the kind of stinker that they were involved in. Certainly opportunity goes a long way with the possibilities of the performance, as neither are given any kind of meaningful direction to elicit something beneficial to the movie’s favor, but there’s also an evidential lack of believability with what they bring to the unloading of their dialogue that truly keeps either of them from indulgingly digging deep, plaguing each of their characters to fall by the wayside of blandness, which is never the way you want to describe your protagonist or antagonist in an action movie.

OVERALL
“The Old Guard 2” is an uninspiringly unfinished inferior installment in every measurable aspect to its entertaining predecessor, proving that even Netflix can waste away a good thing if five years pass towards concocting a televised vision of a cinematic sequel that fails to capture bigger and bolder. Despite the persistent comradery from a group of immortal characters, the film is ultimately defined by its own creative mortality while collapsing under the weight of its own bloated ambition, the likes of which it has no desire pursuing or even resolving towards alluring its audience to a third and final chapter.

My Grade: 4.1 or D-