‘The Old Guard 2’ Reunites Charlize Theron’s Immortals for a Half-Baked Showdown With Uma Thurman 

Alci Rengifo

Much has changed since “The Old Guard” premiered in 2020 when we were all in lockdown and Netflix was still splurging on original films. It was one of the studio’s more engaging action movies, filmed with style and an intelligent approach to a graphic novel adaptation. Now as the studio cuts down on expenditures and the original movie may have faded in the average viewer’s memory, we get “The Old Guard 2.” The same cast is also back, led by Charlize Theron still looking more than capable of saving the world and taking punches. Everyone in this movie looks made for a superhero adventure. What falls flat is the enterprise into which they are straddled.

Though it has been five years between movies, the sequel takes place six months after the events of the original. Andy (Theron), leader of the gang of immortals who fight criminality and evil, is now devoid of her own immortality. Former CIA agent Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) has become the group’s handler. They are still reeling from having condemned old friend Brooker (Matthias Schoenaerts) to a 100-year exile following his betrayal with a malicious big pharma villain. New member Nile (KiKi Layne) has adjusted well to her life of jetting around the world doing good and firing ammo. When fellow soldiers and couple Joe (Marwan Kenzari) and Nicky (Luca Marinelli) find themselves at the Paris apartment where Brooker had secluded himself, there are signs of something nefarious afoot. Indeed, Quynh (Veronica Ngo), Andy’s companion from 500 years ago, has emerged from being condemned to the ocean in a steel casket (the two were accused of witchcraft). Now, she seeks revenge for losing centuries while Andy has been free. Helping her is the enigmatic Discord (Uma Thurman).

“The Old Guard 2” is standard comic book stuff and writer Greg Rucka is once again adapting his own graphic novel. Director Victoria Mahoney is a newcomer, taking over from Gina Prince-Bythewood. If Bythewood, best known for “Love & Basketball” and “The Woman King,” balanced slick action with character development, Mahoney is doing a standard throwaway action distraction of the sort Netflix does so often. The original at least had some kinship with movies like “Highlander,” this one only inspires often funny questions. How is Quynh even capable of fighting, plotting archaic schemes and speaking perfect modern English after being stuck in a steel casket underwater for 500 years? Discord’s own motivations remain murky because Uma Thurman is barely given the adequate time for her character to truly be established. We mostly are told she has been amassing great wealth for centuries, for the purpose of taking down Andy’s team in order to rule the world, or something. 

Rucka still concocts some cheerfully silly ways to keep the storyline going despite events from the last movie. A window opens for Andy to regain her immortality, and new characters, like Tuah (Henry Golding), a scholar of the immortals, are introduced to keep building the world’s mythology. We learn about the ways an immortal can become mortal and vice versa. The details are a bit scant but the idea comes across about specific methods to pass along one’s power. In terms of what made the original stand out, it is refreshing to see Joe and Nicky still be presented as proudly queer in a genre sorely lacking such characters. Their romance gets slightly buried under the action, but at least it’s present. On the other hand, this does make one wonder why Andy and Quynh’s relationship is kept so safely platonic, when in the first movie there were clear hints it was much more. 

As for the action, it’s delivered with a quirky balance of bad visual effects but narrative intelligence. The CGI is more glaringly obvious and the choreography may be stilted, but at least the director keeps the theme of how these heroes can feel pain. Losing their immortality can mean actually having to deal with the consequences of a gunshot. It is a pity that the action sequences lack better style or even adrenaline. Mahoney is also the latest director to lift music directly from “John Wick.” An alley fight between Andy and Quynh is scored to Gesaffelstein’s “Hate or Glory,” which “Havoc,” another Netflix action flick from earlier this year, also borrowed for a shootout. These movies need to try a little harder. Theron can be commended for bringing heart to the role and there is still intrigue to the story. The ending is a “to be continued” cliffhanger confirming Netflix is certain a third movie is justified. If such is the case, it should aim for regaining what made the first “Old Guard” worth seeing.

“The Old Guard 2” begins streaming July 2 on Netflix.