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Straits Times
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
The Old Guard 2 Review: Immortal warriors return in predictable sequel. 2 stars
(From left) Henry Golding as Tuah, Luca Marinelli as Nicky, Marwan Kenzari as Joe, Charlize Theron as Andy and Kiki Layne as Nile in The Old Guard 2. The Old Guard 2 (R21) 196 minutes, available on Netflix ★★☆☆☆ The story: Following the events of The Old Guard (2020), mercenary team leader Andy (Charlize Theron) is no longer immortal, unlike her comrades, who have retained their infinite healing powers. The team must confront powerful beings looking to settle scores: Discord (Uma Thurman), an ancient one with a grudge against humanity, and Quynh (Ngo Thanh Van), newly freed from the undersea cage that Andy failed to save her from hundreds of years ago. The Old Guard 2 is one of those movies in which viewers are supposed to sit back and watch cool things happen: car chases, gun battles, martial arts showdowns. It involves good guys gifted with regenerative healing, a neat way of avoiding the plot armour problems associated with protagonists who walk through a hailstorm of bullets unscathed. The story, based on a graphic novel series of the same name, blends the supernatural with reality by simply not addressing the woo-woo parts – the origins of the healing powers, and why only certain people have them, are mostly left unexplained. Are the regenerative powers genetic? Are the chosen ones demi-gods or touched by divine grace? The franchise so far has revealed little. With one caveat – in this sequel, new characters are introduced, for the sake of dramatic conflict but also to deepen the world in which immortality superpowers exist. The wrinkles do not try to explain the source of the powers – a wise creative decision that avoids the problem of one premise requiring another, ad nauseam – but to allow for immortal-on-immortal combat and all the gore that these entail. Quynh, the immortal whose body was caged in iron then dropped into the sea where she has relived the pain of drowning over and over for centuries, has returned. Vietnamese actress Van , known for her martial arts roles in Furie (2019) and the prequel Furies (2022), is tragically underused. Director Victoria Mahoney, taking over from Gina Prince-Bythewood, elicits good performances from her cast, in particular Theron and Van , but chooses to leave Quynh's mental trauma largely unexplored. Mahoney also fails to relieve the story's predictability, where it seems every meeting between Andy and a former acquaintance starts with tense dialogue followed by a martial arts showdown. New to the franchise is Malaysia-born British actor Henry Golding, who plays Tuah, an immortal who has chosen to be the group's secret archivist. Unfortunately, he is there mainly for exposition, to shed light on the fickleness of the healing powers and why they appear to come and go. As original Netflix action movies go, this work ranks below the tense thriller Rebel Ridge (2024). It falls in the more by-the-numbers category of blow-'em-ups like the two Extraction movies (2020 and 2023), mainly due to its failure to breathe life into a story that still feels trapped in the pages of its graphic novel sources. Hot take: The Old Guard 2 is a workmanlike action sequel that delivers gore and gunfights, but wastes its compelling characters and premise on predictable storytelling.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'The Old Guard 2' with Charlize Theron, Uma Thurman: Director Victoria Mahoney had to protect the 'treasure' of first film
Five years after the first film was released, Charlize Theron returns to the character Andy for The Old Guard 2. This time, Andy has to face Uma Thurman as Discord, believed to be the first immortal, and Andy's friend Quynh (Vân Veronica Ngô), who has spent centuries drowning in an iron maiden. The film was directed by Victoria Mahoney, also notably the first woman to direct a Star Wars film. And in taking on the continuation of The Old Guard series, the "story of action" was of the utmost importance. That's particularly shown through how Mahoney chose to tackle the action at the beginning of the film, compared to the last action sequence of the movie. You can tell the Immortals are in a different state of mind. The colours are brighter at the beginning, there's a fun quality and levity to that beginning sequence, which is very different to what we see as we approach the end of The Old Guard 2. "I'm deeply invested in the act breaks, and requirements for each act break," Mahoney told Yahoo Canada. "So I reverse engineer to sort of a juxtaposition." "And then I'm, in this particular film, honouring the first film. ... I love to sort of pick up and have to kind of find your way and navigate, with the cast and the crew, to create a new path, to honour the path that was orchestrated, to not betray the path, but also to sort of find sighted land and sight of new land. ... I believe that the third act payoff would have been infected or devalued if we had not opened with that." That includes a particularly funny thumb gag where Nicky (Luca Marinelli) and Joe (Marwan Kenzari) are trying to outrun some henchman as part of the mission that starts off the movie. Without revealing too much, Joe's thumb ends up being cut off and as he sticks it back on and they both start laughing. There's also the foot gag, where Nicky's foot is being slowly ripped off as he's hanging onto the outside of a car, being driven by Joe. "The amount of real estate we gave that was specific, so that audiences could get the silliness of like, 'Oh we can laugh.' It's like Popeye. ... And then it goes serious again when you cut to Joe and he's concerned about Nicky. So this tonal balance is so exciting to me." But moving from the first to the second film, fans were expecting a reunion between Andy and Quynh, with an increased curiosity in what that first interaction would be like. "When I got the call and I got hired, I felt as if I was given something that was wonderful, sort of a treasure, and I was asked to get this treasured item from point A to point B, and I was asked to protect it, to elevate it, to allow it to shine, and to not destroy it and betray it," Mahoney said. "And then in that particular scene, the history of these two characters, of what leads us, and then the environment, the set, the space, the time, the time that we actually have to shoot it, all the factors of how we bracket time, to make sure that it's honoured in the way that it deserves. ... We all knew what it meant to us." The cast of The Old Guard 2 was quick to highlight the collaborative nature of Mahoney as a director, and someone who's informed by the actors she's working with. "Vic has this way of really getting to the centre of who you are as an actor and who your character represents," Henry Golding said. "So I remember the very early discussions in which she asked me what I wanted this character to be like, and so with that perspective, she really sort of injected this character with a lot of ... historical traits of where I'm from, the Asian history." "I think one of the greatest moments was asking me what type of weapon that I wanted. ... I really wanted it to be based in my Asian roots, and chose a keris, which is sort of a dagger, which is from Malaysia and Indonesia. ... So something as simple as that can really define character creation. Because once you hone in on the history of something, you can really fill it out." For Chiwetel Ejiofor's Copley, he's far more a part of the group of Immortals following the first film, where we got to not just be introduced to his character, but have empathy for him by the end of that movie. "I love the whole journey of Copley's character and just how it's evolved, how it's evolved over time, and how the audiences can really follow that journey from where he started as this sort of antagonistic character, and really a bit of a problem, and people really began to understand where he's coming from, and his own personal history," Ejiofor said. "And now, absolutely, he's part of the gang." "He's not immortal. So he's risking life and limb in a slightly different way. But he's not afraid to kind of get stuck in there, which is also definitely fun to play as well." But a core part of the beating heart of The Old Guard 2 remains the love story between Joe and Nicky, with the second film leaning into their relationship much more, and growing concerns of what could happen if they didn't have each other. "For me, the heart of their of their relationship is, what would it be like if you would ask a 95-year-old human being, what is the difficult side of being 95 years of age? One would probably say that you'll lose everyone around you, and you'll see the graveyard quite a few times," Kenzari said. "So I guess that element of, what would it be like if Nicky would lose Joe, or Joe would lose Nicky is, I think, what was the emphasis of their journey in the in the second one, which I think is, on a dramatic level, intrinsically for both of these characters, an interesting point of where you take it." With The Old Guard 2 quickly becoming the most popular movie on Netflix after its release on the streaming site, it's clear that fans have been waiting for more from the immortals.
Pink Villa
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
Will There Be The Old Guard 3? Franchise's Future Explored After Major Cliffhanger in Charlize Theron Starrer
The Old Guard returned to the screens five years after the original film was dropped on Netflix. The Old Guard 2 is creating quite a buzz on the internet for its brilliant storyline, performances, and, most importantly, the climax. The movie is left on a cliffhanger, making fans wonder if the makers will return for a third movie. Directed by Victoria Mahoney, the film revolves around Andy and her warriors, who battle it out against the powerful and dangerous Discord to save humanity. The movie brings back the fan-favorite characters, including Andy, Quynh, Joe, Booker, and others. The Old Guard 2 ending explained In the final scenes of The Old Guard 2, which stars Charlize Theron in the lead, Quynh, who is Andy's best friend, is found by the Discord. While she is disappointed with Andy for not putting in the effort to find her, Andy, too, feels guilty about the same. However, Niles hurts Quynh and leaves her to die. Andy somehow rescues her friend, and the two eventually reconcile. They team up together and hunt for the Discord, though for their personal motives. While Andy is determined to find her Old Guard friends, Quynh wants to seek revenge. As for Niles, Tuah, Nicky, Copley, Joe, and Booker, they are all alive. Andy, along with her team, fights the Discord, but ultimately, the latter wins. It captures all of Andy's friends and disappears from the compound. This climax sets a base for the potential new movie, as many questions remain unanswered. Meanwhile, in a recent interview with The Direct, the filmmaker, Mahoney, revealed, 'I'm not in the room. I'm not in that discussion of whether there will be another or not.' She further added, 'The duration of this film took me from other projects I have, so I am legally obliged to some other projects. So, I will be for the next six or seven years on some other jobs.' Hence, while Victoria Mahoney's return to the director's chair is not confirmed, who else will take the project in their hands, only time will tell. The Old Guard 2 is available to stream on Netflix.
The Star
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Vietnamese animation levels up with dual dialect debut
The film poster for 'Little Scholar Quỳnh: The Legend of the Golden Buffalo'. Courtesy of producers HANOI: Homegrown animated adventure film Trang Quynh nhí: Truyen thuyet Kim Nguu (Little Scholar Quynh: The Legend of the Golden Buffalo) is set to premiere nationwide on June 20, offering a refreshing and culturally tuned experience for family audiences across Vietnam. The film tells the story of young Quynh, whose father is wrongfully accused of stealing a sacred treasure from the royal court. Escaping capture with help from his loyal friends and a mysterious buffalo, Quynh embarks on a thrilling quest to clear his family's name. Along the way, the group confronts dark forces bent on harnessing the power of the mythical Nine-Tailed Fox to plunge the world into chaos. What truly sets this release apart is its dual voiceover format. Each regionally tailored version features actors speaking in either a northern or southern accent, allowing audiences to enjoy the film in the dialect most familiar to them. According to the producers, this approach aims to honour regional identities and enhance emotional connection. This move is considered unprecedented in Vietnam's film industry, where animated features are typically released with a single voiceover version. The decision reflects a growing awareness of regional language preferences, especially following recent debates over voiceover quality in local productions. Some high-profile films have drawn backlash for casting celebrity guests with limited voice acting skills. In contrast, the Little Scholar Quynh team opted to work exclusively with professional voice actors and experienced stage performers. 'Animation is about more than just visuals — it's about performance. We believe Vietnamese children deserve top-tier storytelling with voices that do justice to the characters,' said a member of the production team. Little Scholar Quynh: The Legend of the Golden Buffalo is more than just family entertainment — it's a milestone for Vietnam's animation industry. Launching this summer alongside major international releases, the film stands as a vibrant testament to the creative ambition of local studios, and a love letter to Vietnamese folklore and linguistic diversity. - Vietnam News/ANN
