Sommerleigh Pollonais, Senior Writer
Disclaimer: SPOILERS AHEAD
The Old Guard 2 picks up six months or so after the first one ends with our team of immortals, Andy (Charlize Theron), Nile (Kiki Layne), Joe (Marwan Kenzari) and Nicky (Luca Marinelli) still fighting the good fight, taking on gun runners and evil-doers in hopes of leaving the world a little better than they found it.
Quick recap: Andy is now mortal, Agent Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is now a friend using his CIA connections to assist with missions while keeping the immortals off anyone’s radar and Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts) finally meets Andy’s long lost bestie Quynh (Veronica Ngo) who has a bone to pick with her ex-BFF for “abandoning” her.
So here’s the good stuff. The action sequences are still a highlight of this story with memorable scenes like Andy fighting Quynh or the finale between new antagonist Discord (Uma Thurman) and Andy, sword-versus-axe style. The concept is also still an intriguing one, not just because these characters are immortal, but also due to the way each of them approach said immortality. I love that they aren’t invincible and even the fact that there’s still no real explanation for why these chosen few seemingly can’t die doesn’t bother me. It’s just the right touch of fantasy meets reality and I for one think that it works well overall.
That said, The Old Guard 2 doesn’t do much to add much to its world building. Besides the introduction of two new immortals…make that three with the unfortunately named Tuah (no relation to the Hawk Tuah Girl) played by Henry Golding. Not only does it seem like they’re paying Uma Thurman by the word because she barely speaks here, the most interesting relationship AND new character, Quynh isn’t front and centre of it all. By this I’m referring to the build-up we got in Part One with this character not only being Andy’s oldest and dearest friend, but the way in which she was trapped for centuries being the stuff of nightmares, you would think no secondary bad guy was needed!
Having never read the graphic novels I understand they may be following the story, but this is one of those cases where I think they would’ve vastly benefited from a diversionary tale where Quynh (excellently performed by Veronica Ngo) was the only antagonist with her story being ripe for further exploration as is her relationship with Andy, past and present. If anything, Discord should’ve been secondary with maybe a shift occurring in the next story as Quynh potentially works her way back to being a hero of humanity.
Instead, what we get is your typical generic villain, obvious plot threads and less focus on the immortals than we got in the first film. In other words, this sequel wasted the opportunity to build on the promises of the original. Still, I’m hoping we get a third as overall I still enjoyed spending time with the Old Guards. And with an ending that promises big things, let’s hope these immortals can make up for what they lost here.
Sommer’s Score: 5.5 out of 10
And you can check out more fantasy action reviews below:
Sommerleigh of the House Pollonais. First of Her Name. Sushi Lover, Queen of Horror Movies, Comic Books and Binge-Watching Netflix. Mother of two beautiful black cats named Vader and Kylo. I think eating Popcorn at the movies should be mandatory, PS4 makes the best games ever, and I’ll be talking about movies until the zombie apocalypse comes. Double Tap Baby! Read More