After Five Years, Charlize Theron Returns in ‘The Old Guard 2.’ Was It Worth the Wait?
The Netflix sequel stays charming thanks to the chemistry among the cast and the plot’s overwrought mythology.
At first glance, 2020’s The Old Guard and now its sequel, The Old Guard 2, would seem to fit in the same forgettable mockbusters pile as other Netflix offerings like The Electric State, The Grey Man, Red Notice, and others. But both films have a low-key self-awareness of not trying to compete with real blockbusters. Instead, they feel more like a cable drama with stronger actors and better production values. The whole endeavor plays like a Syfy series with a small-yet-devoted following, and it’s refreshing to see an action movie that’s as devoted to its romance plots (both of which are between same-sex couples) as its set pieces. The biggest issue with The Old Guard 2 is that it feels like the latest episode in an ongoing series rather than the first sequel in five years, and there’s no word yet if another installment is forthcoming.
The Old Guard 2 is so episodic that it almost feels designed to be watched immediately after finishing The Old Guard (as I’m sure Netflix’s “keep watching” algorithm will suggest from now on). The story picks up with the recently-mortal Andy (Charlize Theron) and her team of immortals Nile (Kiki Layne), Joe (Marwan Kenzari), and Nicky (Luca Mainelli) trying to take down a gunrunner with the help of former CIA analyst/mortal Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor). However, this baddie is only the tip of the iceberg in a much larger scheme orchestrated by Discord (Uma Thurman), an immortal villain who has brought back fellow immortal Quynh (Veronica Ngo) to get revenge against her former lover, Andy. As the team races to stop Discord, they bring on the immortal Tuah (Henry Golding), who believes that Nile may have a much larger role to play than just being the youngest member of the team.
Perhaps the wisest move these movies make—as new director Victoria Mahoney capably takes over for Gina Prince-Bythewood—is not taking themselves too seriously while also never winking at the audience. It is objectively silly that the bad guy’s name is “Discord,” and her goal is to sow discord among the immortals. However, the movie plays all of this straight, which means we invested in the true tone here — one that is not that of an action film, but rather a soap opera spanning millennia. Rather than a self-contained adventure, The Old Guard 2 picks up every single dangling thread like the return of Quynh and a redemption arc for the exiled immortal Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts). While the first movie did have a sense of completion, the sequel feels far more comfortable as part of an ongoing narrative despite its “stop the bad guy” plot.
It’s impressive how much time and attention is paid to the character relationships in The Old Guard 2. The action scenes feel largely perfunctory, and while they’re handled well enough, the movie almost acknowledges that little of these fights matter because the immortals all have regenerative capabilities. Andy is in a different place because she’s mortal now, but her dramatic arc in this movie isn’t about trying to become immortal again or even that she could die, but trying to heal the rift between her and Quynh. There’s something refreshing about watching an action movie that’s far more concerned with whether a centuries-old love affair can be rekindled rather than how many asses Charlize Theron can kick (it’s Charlize Theron; we know she can kick all the asses). Couple that with the lovely ongoing romance between Joe and Nicky, and you have an action movie that’s refreshingly comfortable showing same-sex love as centuries-old and completely valid within a genre that’s historically been aggressively masculine and heteronormative.
By carrying itself as a character-first soap opera rather than trying to coast on big budget effects or loads of movie stars, The Old Guard 2 avoids the same trap as its Netflix mockbuster brethren (although this being a Netflix movie, you’re naturally going to get a big action scene in the first five minutes because they don’t want people to click away). Even though the film never lands a distinct visual style and the clunky plotting keeps dropping in things like “the prophecy” and an “it’s a trap” reversal, the whole picture oddly coheres because we like these characters and, more importantly, they seem to like each other. The Old Guard 2, despite working in a soap-opera mold of betrayals and epic love affairs, genuinely cares about how these people interact and what they’ll risk for each other.
The larger issue is how much more time we’ll get to spend with them. While The Old Guard left a few dangling plot threads, The Old Guard 2 has an all-out cliffhanger, and with no official announcement of a third installment, we may never know what happens to these characters. I like spending time with them in their goofy little adventures and earnest love stories. If they do return, I hope it won’t be another five-year wait. The characters may be ageless, but the audience isn’t.
The Old Guard 2 arrives on Netflix on Wednesday, July 2. Matt Goldberg is a film critic who lives and works in Atlanta. If you enjoyed this review, check out his newsletter, Commentary Track.
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