Henry O'Brien
There’s no more quietly devastating moment than when you realize a sequel to a movie you like has no purpose for existing other than the fact that it is a sequel to a successful movie. Any fun or interest the first movie washes away. Don’t mistake this for hoping for nostalgia, as a sequel can not only build upon the original but also re-contextualize and break narrative boundaries. The Old Guard 2, the second directed feature from actress Victoria Mahoney, doesn’t feature any of the humanity or quiet warmth that director Gina Prince-Bythewood provided in the 2020 original. The film becomes just an excuse for more plot details, answering more of the who, what, where and when, but never the why.
The sequel once again explores the pain and emotions that come with being an immortal mercenary, but lacks the same weight, even as the film depicts the team in a less-than-victorious light. The Old Guard 2 sets the melancholy undertones of immortality from the very jump, with Andy (Oscar winner Charlize Theron) saying, “I’ve been here before. Over and over again. And each time the same question. Is this it? Will this time be the one? And each time the same answer. And I’m just so tired of it.”
Theron’s exhaustion underlies the whole film, which is still undoubtedly entertaining (if The Woman King proved anything, it’s that Prince-Bythewood has a knack for thematic action). Meanwhile, the newest film feels more or less like a watered-down retread. In the new film, the immortals and Andy, who lost her immortality in the first film, face off against their kind in Discord (Uma Thurman) and Quỳnh (the returning Ngô Thanh Vân). The latter of these immortals holds a grudge against Andy for allowing her to be cast into the sea in an iron maiden nearly five centuries ago.
2020’s The Old Guard goes to great pains to depict Andy’s guilt, while the sequel, The Old Guard 2, you know, the one where she has to confront that guilt, feels lost. Maybe it comes down to a deterioration of quality in original comic book creator Greg Rucka’s script, which also features Sarah L. Walker as a co-writer. Maybe it comes down to Charlize Theron acknowledging the disposability of a sequel on Netflix. Either way, the drama doesn’t work this time around.
The sequel does try to play with convention, but just not enough. Immortality can be transferred at any time in this world, so there leaves an element of unpredictability that The Old Guard 2 predictably attempts to exploit. Theron’s Andy feels more comfortable being mortal, but the interest in the inner workings of Andy’s emotions does not get explored further.
What made Gina Prince-Bythewood’s films like The Old Guard or The Woman King such critical successes come from how she finds the drama and humanity in projects that, let’s face it, could easily be paycheck jobs. There are numerous times when the immortals not only share their tragic backstory but also explain the true dilemmas that come with such a curse. Prince-Bythewood pushes it further in moments like when Nile (Dandelion‘s KiKi Layne) first finds out she has immortality, and she finds time to listen to some music to wash away these confusing feelings.
Although the action sequences are competently entertaining, The Old Guard 2 doesn’t have any of these moments of introspection. Instead, we get lore dumps and plot twists that will set up another sequel. It’s not to say Gina Prince-Bythewood’s 2020 film doesn’t fall into some of the same traps as the follow up, it most certainly does. The sequel just has nothing going for it in terms of having an authorial mark to it. The work feels anonymous.
The film drops further details about Andy and her relationship to Quỳnh and what Discord’s whole deal is. That’s where The Old Guard 2’s interests solely lie, unfortunately. Any hope that this isn’t just an excuse to explore the world in the most vacuous of terms should be dashed. The film leaves you on a cliffhanger for The Old Guard 3, but nothing from the franchise’s second entry indicates that there should be any interest at all.
