2020’s The Old Guard told a complete story, a group of immortals kidnapped by Big Pharma to cure disease for profit. It’s simple enough with well paced action, likable characters and some decent lore to back it all up. The first ends on a bit of cliffhanger, which part 2 picks directly up from, taking place 6 months after the events at the end. 

 

While I respect that we get more time with these characters and the character of Quynh, teased as lost in the depths of the ocean is recovered for a villainous arc - there needed to be more to it all. In the first film we are led to believe that Charlize Theron’s Andy is the first of the immortals, but in actuality there were at least one (possibly 2) that came before. To be direct, I’ve never read the graphic novel - so maybe all this is pulled directly off the page and it translates on screen as forgotten twists for the sake of it. 

 

Is Charlize Theron immortal herself, because she remains an absolute badass after half a decade of waiting! As now mortal Andy, she is surrounded by her complete returning team - a surprise to be sure after years between films. Uma Thurman arrives on the scene as the original eternal, yielding her infamous katana to resemble The Bride in Kill Bill. It’s always a wonderful experience to have Thurman back on the screen, but while her performance is fine here, her character lacks definition. We learn more as the story progresses but by the time the credits roll, it all feels too little too late. Same can be said for another elder, played by Henry Golding, who excuses charm no matter what actions he depicts on screen - nonetheless more could be done with his character beyond delivering exposition. 

 

The largest change this go is the shift in direction with Director Victoria Mahoney shifting away from the drama of her 2011 debut feature, Yelling to the Sky. Admittedly on a visual level, the film is almost identical to the first, an achievement 5 years after the initial’s release - this includes the location identifiers being the same exact design. The screenplay is once again written by the author of the graphic novel, with additional help from someone not affiliated with the original - Sarah L. Walker. 

 

It’s possible now being two films in and knowing these characters (especially if you’re like me and watch them back to back), the film while being much shorter has a problem retaining attention. There’s some decent ideas for action here, ideas that are harkened by odd to poor editing decisions.

 

Even with these issues, the cast of characters and the story kept me interested throughout - it’s a shame the action couldn’t have been handled more appropriately. At points there are so many cuts, it’s almost like I’m watching Liam Neeson climb over a fence all over again (yes, that was in fact an outdated Tak3n reference). 

 

Sitting at nearly 20 minutes shorter than The Old Guard, this sequel suffers from its incomplete story - hedging its bets that Netflix will be ordering a third film. If that does come to fruition, I’m okay with this being a second part of the trilogy - left as it is - The Old Guard 2 is a disappointing and flawed way to presumably end this story with yet another axe-grinding cliffhanger.