The Old Guard 2: Charlize Theron’s delayed Netflix sequel slated by critics – UK Times

After a difficult journey to the screen,The Old Guard 2 has largely been met with derision by critics.

The original film, which stars Charlize Theron as an immortal warrior named Andy, broke Netflix records when it was released in 2020 during the pandemic.

Last year, Theron revealed that a follow-up had completed filming two years earlier before facing substantial delays due to big leadership changes at Netflix.

Speaking to Variety, Theron said: “Netflix went through quite a changeover. We got kind of stuck in that and our post-production shut down, I think, five weeks into it.”

The film, which like the first is adapted from his own comic books by writer Greg Rucka, finally arrived on the streaming service this week. The addition of Uma Thurman to the cast has been praised, but generally critics have been left underwhelmed.

Writing for RogerEbert.com, Robert Daniels opined that the film “lacks any sizable reason to be invested in its existence.” He added that the sequel is “an emotionally inert slog” that is “burdened by Greg Rucka’s dull and underdeveloped script. There isn’t much of a story here.”

In a Vulture review headlined: “What the hell happened to The Old Guard 2?”, critic Bilge Ebiri argued that the film suffered from “a debilitating cheapness that keeps this picture from reaching its true potential.”

Meanwhile, Shawn Van Horn of Collider felt the film was overburdened by exposition and a desire to set up a potential franchise.

“The whole plot is explained and told to us, rather than shown,” wrote Van Horn. “‘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.” He also described the action sequences as “shockingly tame.”

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The New York Times found more to love, with critic Brandon Yu singling out Thurman as “a brilliant addition whose presence gives the right dose of pulp and gravitas to help set the tone of a grander mythology.”

Yu continued: “And yet, it’s a shame how little she and Theron actually show up together onscreen. It’s partly understandable. There’s a lot of new stuff here, and ultimately The Old Guard 2 has a bigger picture and more long-term world-building — which is to say franchise-tentpoling — it’s focused on setting up.

“You’d think that would be a bad idea for a sequel, looking at what’s next when the challenge of making the next one is already so great. But it’s confident enough that it never feels that way in the moment — only until the very end, when Thurman and Theron are duking it out, and it’s delicious enough to feel too short.”

The Old Guard 2 is streaming now on Netflix.