If Netflix’s new action sequel The Old Guard 2 told a self-contained story, it would be easy to praise as a good-not-great follow-up to one of the most quietly compelling action movies of the decade. But there’s something more complicated going on here. Where the first Old Guard occasionally felt like a pilot for a riveting new TV show, The Old Guard 2 plays more like a cliffhanger season finale. Even more so than Avengers: Infinity War or The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, this film is a middle entry designed to tease a grand conclusion that won’t come until the final installment.
The trouble is, the film’s much-delayed release schedule isn’t a huge vote of confidence that Netflix wants to “renew” this particular trilogy. The Old Guard 2 was filmed back in 2022, but had to pause its post-production due to corporate regime changes and the various Hollywood strikes. So far, Netflix hasn’t announced any details about if or when a third installment might arrive, which makes it especially odd to watch a movie that leaves so many of its themes and story beats unfinished. And, unfortunately, that’s not the only way in which The Old Guard 2 is less than the sum of its parts.
The strength of the first film came from the contemplative existentialism and nuanced subtextual character work that director Gina Prince-Bythewood and her cast poured into Greg Rucka’s story of immortal warriors working as for-hire mercenaries. What could have just been a basic, well-choreographed action vehicle became something much bolder and more nuanced—a bone-crunching hand-to-hand combat flick that also dealt with depression, suicidal ideation, centuries-spanning queer love stories, moral purpose, and the lived-in friendships of “boss” Andy a.k.a. Andromache of Scythia (Charlize Theron) and her crew of fellow immortals.
This time around, however, Prince-Bythewood has handed over the directing reins to Victoria Mahoney (Yelling To The Sky) who takes a much more straightforward approach to the material. The cast is back, as is Rucka (who also wrote the graphic novels on which the series is based) so in that sense there’s welcome continuity between the two films. But The Old Guard 2 is broader, zippier, and more caught up in explaining the rules of its immortal superheroes rather than simply living in their complex emotional reality.
At first the vibe shift is fun enough. Where the action scenes of the first film took place in sandy deserts, cramped drug-running planes, and dimly lit backrooms, The Old Guard 2 opens with a heist sequence set inside a brightly lit mansion filled with gaudy neon-colored art. Though Andy lost her immortality in the last film, she found her zest for life again (not to mention a new mullet). She’s now happy to joke around with new immortal Nile Freeman (KiKi Layne) and non-powered ex-CIA operative James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) as they take out security guards, all while everlasting couple Joe (Marwan Kenzari) and Nicky (Luca Marinelli) pull their best Fast & Furious as a distraction.
It’s sweet to see the centuries-old crew in a happier era, and the film has a darkly funny runner about how the immortals handle losing limbs on the battlefield. (Apparently even a beheading isn’t enough to take them down.) Yet the emotional stakes start to feel a little odd when we learn it’s only been six months since the events of the last film. That’s not a particularly interesting amount of time for Nile to have spent grappling with her newfound existence. And it’s almost comical how quickly banished betrayer Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts) reconnects with the group after they exiled him for 100 years at the end of the last movie. (Is six months even enough time to miss someone when you’re immortal?)
Half a year also seems awfully quick for Andy’s long-lost bestie Quỳnh (Vân Veronica Ngô) to adjust to modern life after 500 years spent trapped in an iron maiden at the bottom of the ocean. Yet, as the last movie’s epilogue explained, she’s back and not exactly thrilled that Andy didn’t find a way to save her in all the centuries she was alive. Instead, the rescue credit belongs to Uma Thurman’s hilariously named Discord, who joins Henry Golding’s Tuah as mysterious new characters with their own connections to the immortal crew.
Unfortunately, where the first Old Guard kept the exposition to a minimum, The Old Guard 2 is the sort of movie where characters pull books from a secret library in order to point out ancient pictographs that explain exactly how the immortal “powers” work. What once felt like an abstract quirk of fate now gets all sorts of different rules and rituals that, ironically, rob this story of its magic. The heart of the film should and sometimes does belong to Andy and Quỳnh and their tense, emotionally fraught reunion. (Mahoney’s most impressive directorial touch is a stylish time-hopping oner that tracks their long history together.) Yet the script too often gets sidetracked by mystical schemes that feel like they belong in a much goofier fantasy film—as does Thurman, who channels some campy mid-aughts action antagonist energy in a role that doesn’t really call for it.
Thankfully, the returning cast know their characters well enough that there’s still nuance here. Marinelli gets to deliver the big romantic monologue this time around and Schoenaerts gives pathos to Booker’s rushed arc. Theron and Layne are reliably great co-leads, even if Nile gets too little focus. And Ngô gives Quỳnh a welcome amount of depth that isn’t necessarily there on the page. Still, on the whole, Prince-Bythewood’s humanistic approach has been replaced by something more generic. The clunky dialogue stands out more when there are no quiet observational pauses between the lines. Even the action is a little less human this time around, rooted in heightened martial arts wirework and vehicular CG spectacle as much as bloody gun vs. axe battles.
The Old Guard 2 is still a relatively enjoyable watch, particularly for those who fell in love with these characters in the first film. But with how little it wraps up its themes and arcs, it’s hard to recommend it as a standalone story. The best thing about The Old Guard 2 is that it will help people appreciate just how special the first film truly is.
Director: Victoria Mahoney
Writers: Greg Rucka
Starring: Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Matthias Schoenaerts, Vân Veronica Ngô, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Uma Thurman, Henry Golding
Release Date: July 2, 2025 (Netflix)
