The Old Guard 2 review: Charlize Theron and Uma Thurman face off in long-delayed action sequel

Five years is a long time in the movie business, but it wasn’t meant to take that long for the sequel to Charlize Theron’s propulsive and gritty action flick, The Old Guard.

The original film, adapted from Greg Rucka’s comic book series, was released in mid-2020 to critical acclaim and high audience numbers. It helped that the movie, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, was actually great.

It told the story of a group of immortal warriors, led by Theron’s Andromache/Andy, who initiates a new member among their ranks and then have to battle against a pharmaceutical executive trying to exploit the secret to their eternal life.

The Old Guard 2 was what an action movie should be – proper, nail-biting and messy hand-to-hand combat choreography, which despite the characters’ immortality, still had stakes. As well as emotional beats about the purpose and burden of living forever.

It was quickly greenlit for a sequel and within two years, the cast was back on set. Filming finished in late 2022 and then, nothing.

It’s taken almost three years between “that’s a wrap” and this week when The Old Guard 2 finally dropped, the victim of various delays including, according to Theron, “regime change” at Netflix.

The first film had a mid-credits scene involving the return of Andy’s former lover, Quynh (Van Veronica Ngo), who had been trapped within an iron maiden at the bottom of the ocean for five centuries.

The sequel picks up that one loose thread as a jumping off point. Quynh is back, untombed by a new antagonist in the form of Uma Thurman, who plays Discord, who turns out to be the first ever immortal, older than Andy.

Discord has plans, and is using Quynh to draw out Andy and her crew – Nile (KiKi Layne), Nicky (Luca Marinelli), Joe (Marwan Kenzari), Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), plus Andy’s old friend Tuah (Henry Golding), and their human liaison James (Chiwetel Ejiofor).

Andy is also no longer invulnerable, having lost her immortality in the previous film (the mythology allows for this), and is faced with a vengeful Quynh who blames her former lover for how long she was trapped in her watery prison.

This follow-up definitely does not match the punch of its predecessor. While some of the action sequences still have energy – it’s so good watching Theron make a meal of her onscreen opponents, she really is a top action star – the film overall is flat.

There are three notable fight sequences. One at the start with the team on a mission in Italy, another involving the infiltration of a nuclear facility which features enough variety to sustain interest, and then the showdown you’ve all been waiting for, between Theron and Thurman.

That Thurman uses a long blade will not go unnoticed, but this doesn’t have anywhere near the thrills of Kill Bill. It’s too short and, worst of all, feels inconsequential.

Victoria Mahoney took over directing duties on this sequel, and she doesn’t have the same talent for balancing action and emotional stakes as Prince-Bythewood, the latter also having done The Woman King with Viola Davis.

The script is also slight, giving most of the characters very little to do – especially Layne’s Nile and Ejiofor’s James. Even Andy’s arc with the return of Quynh is only surface-level.

But the most baffling thing is the ending. It doesn’t actually end.

It’s not like the first film’s mid-credits scene, opening up a possibility for more. There are no conclusions here, with the film cutting out in the middle of some very dangerous unfinished business.

This is not a confirmed trilogy. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Theron said that regardless of whether a third film will be greenlit, this was “always where we wanted to land the film” and if there were to be, she honestly does not know what it would look like.

It seems wild that the filmmakers would write a script with this kind of non-denouement and not have thought about where it will go. That feels negligent. If you play it out in your head, there’s not another movie in this, it’s one more act, a climactic battle sequence.

It’s wholly unsatisfying for the viewer, who is left wondering, wait, what happened to the rest of the movie?

Rating: 2/5

The Old Guard 2 is on Netflix