Images: Eli Joshua Ade / Netflix Press
Review by Jon Donnis
It's been a long wait for a follow-up to The Old Guard, and while the returning cast hasn't missed a beat, the same can't be said for the film around them. The Old Guard 2 picks up six months after the events of the first, with Andy, now mortal, leading her immortal team through a mission in Split. Booker is still in exile after his betrayal, and Quỳnh, once thought lost forever, has been freed from her centuries-long underwater prison. But instead of a rescue and reunion, it's revenge she's after.
There's a lot going on, and that's part of the problem. Rather than building on the foundation of the first film, the sequel feels determined to redraw the map completely. It throws in new characters, complex rules about how immortality can be passed on or taken away, and a villain who comes out of nowhere but is somehow the original immortal. Uma Thurman plays Discord, an arms dealer who once shared knowledge with a sage called Tuah, now living in Seoul and holding secrets about the immortals' existence. That could have been compelling, but it never quite settles.
Charlize Theron still gives Andy a real weight. Her character is struggling, having lost her powers but trying to hold the group together. There's a small spark of promise in the idea of what immortality means when it's no longer guaranteed. But the film doesn't explore that. It's too busy laying groundwork for another sequel, without resolving anything in this one.
The fight scenes do deliver. They're well put together, and the cast handles the action with sharp precision. Visual effects are solid. Joe and Nicky still have chemistry, and Nile continues to be a strong presence. Booker, even sidelined, has a moment of real consequence. But the emotional core just isn't there.
When Quỳnh finally confronts Andy, the weight of centuries should hang over their encounter. Instead, it's rushed. Worse still, after all that time buried alive, Quỳnh emerges looking completely untouched, flawless skin, perfect eyebrows. It's hard not to notice. It's a small thing, but it points to a wider issue. The film reaches for depth, but stays surface-level.
Thurman's Discord adds little. She's meant to be the first immortal, a looming presence with grand plans. But her motivations are thin, and her scenes feel like they're there to build out mythology more than tell a coherent story. Her final confrontation with Andy is brutal, but ultimately unresolved. She walks away, taking the remaining captured teammates with her, and promises they'll meet again. It's a cliffhanger. Not a conclusion.
And that's what makes the whole thing frustrating. After a five-year gap, The Old Guard 2 needed to justify its own existence. Instead, it ends up feeling like an overcomplicated bridge to something that may never arrive. The story set up in the first film is mostly ignored, and what we get instead is a web of new rules, characters, and hints at a wider universe that might never be finished.
There's talent on screen, and moments of potential buried in the noise. But the writing doesn't hold it together. It tries to say something big about power, trust, and what it means to live forever. What it ends up saying is very little.
Score: 4 out of 10.
