When The Old Guard came out in July 2020, it was a big hit on Netflix at a time when we needed a distraction from the woes of real life. Written by Gregory Rucka, who also penned the graphic novels, and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love & Basketball, The Secret Life of Bees), The Old Guard had an interesting premise about immortal mercenaries who are thousands of years old, but rather than becoming another paint-by-numbers action flick, the action scenes were exciting, and the plot was filled with depth and intrigue. Now, after five years, we are finally getting The Old Guard 2, also on Netflix, and although Charlize Theron is back with the rest of the cast, along with some new characters led by Uma Thurman, the sequel falls flat by falling into a very familiar trap. While a third film hasn’t officially been announced, the news is out there that it’s wanted, so instead of being a self-contained story, The Old Guard 2 feels like nothing more than setup, with scene after scene of dialogue and exposition and little actual fighting. But is it worth watching despite its flaws?
What Is ‘The Old Guard 2’ About?

It’s been a long five years, so first, a quick refresher about The Old Guard. The titular group is made up of mercenaries who have been alive for centuries and cannot die. Although they don’t possess superhuman strength (this wasn’t a superhero movie), they can instantly heal from their wounds. Led by Andromache “Andy” Scythia (Theron), the group fights for humanity and takes down the bad guys, but they are joined by a new immortal, a United States Marine named Nile (KiKi Freeman). They survive the film’s bad guy, Steven Merrick (Harry Melling), but not without a cost, as the group is betrayed by one of their own, a man named Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), and Andy discovers that she is no longer immortal. The Old Guard 2 opens with the group, minus Booker, doing what they do best, taking down a gang of gun runners without a care in the world, because they can heal from whatever injuries that befall them. That is, except for Andy, who is forced to be more careful, even while she’s still fighting on the front lines. Booker ends up coming back into the fold and seeking redemption when he tells Andy that he was visited by a woman named Quynh (Veronica Ngo). Quynh is looking for Andy because she is also an immortal and was once Andy’s best friend hundreds of years ago. However, she was captured by humans, locked in a sarcophagus, and tossed into the sea, where she remained for 500 years. She was just rescued by a mysterious, wealthy woman named Discord (Thurman), who is the very first immortal. Now, the Old Guard must take on two vengeful women who have the same powers as they do. Will they be able to stop them from accomplishing their nefarious goals, and can a mortal Andy make it out alive?
‘The Old Guard’ 2 Has Compelling New Characters and Ideas

The Old Guard 2 has so much potential in its premise. Instead of being a straightforward action movie with scene after scene of gun and swordplay, the film knows the audience won’t care about what happens to these characters if they aren’t invested in them first. Sadly, it’s a hit-and-miss effort with so many characters sharing the screen. The film features six members of The Old Guard, one mortal in James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor), and two villains. That’s a lot to focus on, so if you’re looking to see major developments with Copley, Joe (Marwan Kenzari), Nicky (Luca Marinelli), and newcomer Tuah (Henry Golding), you’re going to be disappointed. They’re the support team who give others something to do, but they do little more than help push the narrative. Andy is surprisingly the least interesting of the main cast. Having Andy become mortal could take The Old Guard 2 down so many paths, but she spends most of her time with her head in the clouds, lost in the past. Nile, who was the new immortal in The Old Guard and the audience’s way into the plot, is still front-and-center, but just barely. There is a major twist to her character and what she’s capable of, but it feels as if that’s the only reason why she’s around. Much of what works in The Old Guard 2 has to do with its two new cast members. Discord might be a more traditional big bad, complete with her own army of soldiers, but there is something more going on with her behind the surface that we will learn later. But it’s Quynh that makes everything go. We met her at the end of the first film, approaching Booker, setting up her story, and it’s a tragic one. She is filled with a lot of rage, but she is a believable villain because we can understand her pain. Imagine that humans put you in a coffin and tossed you into the ocean. Thankfully, although painful, your death would be rather quick, but if you’re an immortal like Quynh, you’re forced to drown and come back to life over and over every minute for five hundred years. The true miracle is that Quynh hasn’t completely lost her mind. But with Andy having long stopped looking for her, the left-behind immortal is, of course, going to be hurt and will want to take out her anger on anyone in her way. That gives a lot of depth to her. The problem is how The Old Guard 2 tries to tell its story.
Nothing Much Happens in This Setup for a Desired Trilogy

Image via Netflix

The Old Guard was a perfect combination of character and world-building, mixed with high-octane action scenes. That is lost in The Old Guard 2, which phones it in because they know there is more story to tell later. Rucka is back as the writer, so we’re seeing his vision, but with a new director in Victoria Mahoney (who has mostly worked on TV with shows like Seven Seconds and I Am the Night), so much falls flat, because the two don’t know how to craft a story that can stand by itself. The Old Guard 2 is stuffed with scene after scene of dialogue and exposition to the point that you won’t be able to stand to eat another bite. One scene has Andy talking about her pain, another has Booker talking about what he’s going through. We stop with each character one by one to hear their feelings, but worse is the lazy trope of explaining the whole plot. Uma Thurman’s Discord is a fascinating character, but we spend so much time learning about her through the words of others, rather than seeing her in action. The whole plot is explained and told to us, rather than shown. “Show, don’t tell” is one of the most basic rules in storytelling, and it’s frustrating that The Old Guard 2 doesn’t follow this. We even get a stereotypical scene of our protagonists reading more about who they are in some ancient books. It’s here that they’ll learn how to act next, rather than figuring it out through the action of the story.

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The Old Guard 2 is shockingly tame with the action scenes. After the opening fight, we get nothing for most of the first two acts. Even when Andy and Quynh meet for the first time in hundreds of years, their fight is so choreographed and emotionless. The action does pick up in the third act, as The Old Guard sets off to stop Discord and Quynh from accomplishing their destructive plan, but it comes so late in the run that what follows next is rushed through. Another subplot surrounding Andy’s mortality is foreshadowed so heavily that the outcome loses its impact. It’s obvious that The Old Guard 2 is the next chapter in a trilogy, because so much of the story is left unfinished when the end credits come. Maybe in five more years we’ll get a final chapter, but The Old Guard 2 is filler that doesn’t give us much of a reason to care about this movie. It’s all synopsis, not a movie that exists on its own. The Old Guard 2 is about time and its impact, but it wastes so much of it. The Old Guard 2 is now available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.

The Old Guard 2

The Old Guard 2 forgets to show and not tell in this lazy sequel.

Release Date

July 1, 2025

Runtime

104 minutes

Director

Victoria Mahoney

Writers

Greg Rucka

Pros & Cons

Quynh is a compelling villain who we can sympathize with.
Discord feels sinister and mysterious thanks to Uma Thuman’s performance.
Andy’s vulnerability opens a new avenue for her character.

It is bogged down in dialogue and exposition.
The action scenes are lifeless and routine.
Not having a self-contained story leads to a frustrating ending.