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Mar 10, 2025 By Scott Howard Web Exclusive

Christoph Waltz and Lucy Liu lead in a film that asks, “What would an ‘80s action character look like through a more modern lens?” Old Guy presents itself in promotional material as an action/comedy featuring some of the best actors Hollywood has to offer, but realistically, there’s a deeper question lurking beneath the surface. Director Simon West and writer Greg Johnson attempt to touch on the shifting tones of big-budget features, societal sensibilities, and what happens to someone when they’re the product of a bygone era in a world moving on without them.

Danny Dolenski (Waltz) is a hitman for an unspecified organization, healing up from a hand injury after a 30-year successful assassin career. Coming off a sabbatical spent partying at a level that would make anyone over the age of 30 sick to their stomach, Danny is tapped to mentor a young, up-and-coming underworld prodigy, Wihlborg (Cooper Hoffman), much to his chagrin. Danny believes he’s more than capable of still being the best enforcer in Central Europe despite his ailing body and old-school mentality.

This consistently places Danny at odds with Wihlborg, constantly boring him with criticisms of his work ethic while simultaneously needing his help when things inevitably go sideways. Straight-edge Wihlborg regularly clashes with pill-popping Danny’s boorish nature but lacks the general know-how on completing jobs efficiently. As much as neither of them wants to admit it, they need each other. After running afoul of a rival criminal organization, they are forced to settle their differences and enlist the aid of Anata (Liu), a conflict resolution expert in a similar field, to seize power on a suicide mission at the behest of their criminal overlords.

Dolenski rocks the boat with his criminal contacts, reminiscent of Han Solo-esque characters that operate exclusively on alcohol, wry charm, and copious friendly insults. While this passes for an acceptable protagonist in an ‘80s film, it continually lands him in hot water with other characters. While the film keeps things surface level on this particular matter, its efforts do make his pairing with Wihlborg interesting. Somehow, when they inevitably become endeared to one another, there is little narrative reason as to why. While there is something to be said for shortened runtimes, it often comes at the cost of relationship development—none more so than with Anata. Anata clearly carries some level of affection for Danny and vice versa, yet outside of knowing that she very clearly wants to escape the alluded-to life she is a part of, little is done to really grow her as a character or establish who she was before the events of the film

Waltz is the star of the show, and you feel it in the small scenes with Danny. He brings those Oscar-worthy experiences to his acting, but sadly, it’s not always enough to elevate the film to the next level. Liu imbues Anata with humanity and snark, as expected of an actress of her caliber, but this is marred by a missed opportunity to allow her to dig into the role. Anata has aged out of her profession and expresses a clear desire to settle down and live out the rest of her life, but that’s all we get. Hoffman is great as an impatient youth. He carries all the bluster and pomp of a young Gen Z man and sells the role, yet once more, the pacing of the narrative prevents him from truly stretching his wings

All told, the movie is a great experience for what it is: a small action movie with lofty goals that just falls a bit short. West moves things along at a brisk pace, keeping the action light and extenuating the violence when necessary to ratchet up the stakes. It would have been excellent to see what more he could have accomplished with an additional 10 to 15 minutes of runtime to drive home the character-centric approach buried shallowly beneath the surface

Old Guy is a great popcorn movie for a quiet night at home. The solid cast prevents the film from ever feeling like it deflates in the small moments, and its dedication to its craft keeps it a cut above some other phoned-in straight-to-streaming movies, if only slightly. This is something where the audience can just approach and turn their brains on autopilot to keep the entertainment value at a satisfactory level. Sometimes, that’s all you need.

Author rating: 5.5/10