When veteran contract killer Danny Dolinksy (Christoph Waltz) heals from hand surgery, he begrudgingly partners with a young new killer, Wihlborg (Cooper Hoffman). Old Guy follows the killer duo through their first mission, but soon, they realize it could be their last. With the help of their favorite nightclub manager Anata (Lucy Liu), Dolinsky and Wihlborg realize their agency has double-crossed them and they must find a way to survive together. From Expendables 2 director Simon West, this action comedy struggles to find its footing. It saddly falls flat, with underdeveloped characters who fall into every trope causing the 90-minute film to feel a little to predictable resulting in a dragging pace.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to stand out among hit-man movies, and studios have released them in droves. David Fincher’s The Killer and Richard Linklater’s Hit Man were released the same year, and these filmmakers added something unique to the genre or are incredibly well-crafted. West’s Old Guy did neither of those things, even with Waltz oozing charisma and charm that is begging to be utilized with an acclaimed supporting cast behind him. Old Guy wants to be in too many movies, but in doing so, it created a generic atmosphere that felt to familiar. 

Despite West’s familiarity with big budget action flicks like Con Air and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Old Guy feels as if it’s more of an outline than something that was fully fleshed out. The character dynamics between old stubborn guy, the young cocky guy, and the beautiful but ‘damaged’ woman bit works for the first 20 minutes, but the film does not defy these tropes or develope them; Old Guy proves how static these tropes are. It is not to say that Cooper Hoffman and Lucy Liu are underwhelming as actors, but even they can only elevate this script so much while West fails to direct his actors into using their strengths instead of just going through the motions of the script.

The film’s comedy elements are reminiscent of In Bruges, which tries very hard to emulate humorous moments blended with action sequences and quirky but flawed characters that you accept for all they are. Wihlborg believes his body is a temple and does not drink or do drugs, but he has a problem with over-killing on missions, shooting innocent bystanders–but also he does not like guns. Dolinksy’s arthritis, drinking and pill habit cause his aim to be off and his mood to be foul, but when it counts he is sober and never misses. Anata is going through internal problems with her age and lifestyle not meshing, so she figures things out by the end. These are good bones for characters to begin a film with, but they are never elaborated on and play out exactly how you would imagine.

On a more technical note, Old Guy looks and feels like a film that was rushed into the final edit. Dolinsky’s favorite place to let loose is a club; he goes to several throughout the movie in different countries. However, every club scene looks the same, down to the lighting and the choreography. Each time West cuts to the club, it reminds the audience that they are watching a movie, and likely that production did not think anyone would notice. Instances like these cause a further disconnect between the audience and the story; when an audience is too aware of watching a movie, they begin to pull away and the filmmaker loses their attention and trust. The coloring for the film was also very flat and washed out with gray tones–almost like a sheen of gray–making Old Guy seem  like a dismal drama instead of a modern action comedy. Having the film so washed out takes away from its liveliness, creating a more depressing world that makes it harder to remember to laugh. From a technical standpoint, if there was a budget to travel internationally, shoot on location, and hire Waltz, Liu, and Hoffman, then more budget should have been allocated to making the film great on a production level.

Old Guy is a popcorn movie that goes through the motions of what a film ‘should’ contain, and it hits all the major points a screenwriting class will tell a student to include. From the perfect three-act structure, the odd-ball rivals-turned-friends, and the predictable romance between Lucy Liu and Christoph Waltz, Old Guy does what it thinks it is supposed to. Screenwriter Greg Johnson can become a better screenwriter, but this is his second film, and it tried to hard to play safe. Though this has a great cast and a seasoned action director behind it, but a lack of chemistry and complexity blocks Old Guy from hitting its marks and landing all its punches. 

Score: 1.5 out of 5

I really wanted to like Old Guy because of the cast, but in a way the film took itself too seriously for me to enjoy. What gets me about movies that try and just hit the bare minimum of ticking all the boxes, that it is supposed to be enough for people to call it a movie, but what about it being entertaining and genuine? Nothing is worse than watching a movie that does not believe the audience is intelligent or owed a great time, and Old Guy feels like a film made for a payday. The cast deserved more from West and Johnson, and audiences deserve more.