Director Simon West should be a household name; his first film was a little picture from 1997 called CON AIR. Perhaps you've heard of it? He went on to helm similar big budget action extravaganzas, such as 2001's LARA CROFT: TOMB RAIDER and 2012's THE EXPENDABLES 2. Eventually, however, time and changing tastes caught up with West, and now he's directing smaller budget flicks, from action to drama, that move at a slightly slower pace and appeal to a different audience.
The same could be said for Danny Dolinski, the titular OLD GUY of West's latest feature, played by Academy-Award Winner Christoph Waltz (INGLORIOUS BASTERDS, THE GREEN HORNET). Danny's a wetworks expert in a field saturated with hot young assassins, desperately trying to prove he's still relevant, often to his detriment. After recovering from a wrist injury that found him relegated to a cleaner role at a local bakery, Danny is itching to get back in the field. When he's told the only role available is support for young assassing Wihlborg (Cooper Hoffman), he is understandably unenthused. He invites his longtime friend Anata (Lucy Liu) along for their job since it'll take them to some charming locations around Europe, and once underway, tries to take point on every hit. Things don't go as planned.
As you can probably already divine, there are so many parallels between Waltz's OLD GUY and West's career. Danny was once the best, the biggest game in town, and his name still opens doors... but the game has changed. If you don't want to blame Marvel then blame COVID, but regardless, you have to admit that we're not living in the nineties anymore and things just aren't the same.
I liked, but didn't love, OLD GUY. Waltz is always great, and Liu gets to play a character that isn't expected to speak with her fists in this film. Anata is actually quite layered in her simplicity: she wants to be a woman, whereas she has always been a madame or a confidant. She wants her turn for the happy ending, and to be treated with delicacy and respect. Danny wants the opposite - he wants everything loud and fast and now. The trailer opens just as the film - with Danny dancing it up in a nightclub with people half his age or further removed. West likes the idea of Danny clubbing it up so much that the film ends with more of that footage, which effectively erases any of the lessons that the character may have learned over the course of the narrative - playing the credits over that footage essentially says this is how Danny sees himself, how he's happiest. As invested viewers, I don't agree with that.
Again, I did like this film, but it was largely vapid - it has the bones of a film but no flesh. Any time I thought a character would reveal another layer or show some growth it would be interrupted by an underwhelming gun fight. Hoffman's Wihlborg is presented as an interesting character but we never get to know him, likely because Danny chooses not to know him. However, nothing about the narrative makes it feel like we're seeing this world through Danny's eyes, so the deliberate obfuscation makes no sense. Wihlborg could've been given more solo screentime to flesh out his character but that choice was never made. He was more of a costume design than an actual character. I waited through the whole movie to see Danny do something that only he, with his wisdom and experience, would think to do, and that patience did finally pay off in the third act, but it was too little, too late by that point.
I talked to director Simon West and star Lucy Liu about the film and some of the advantages of doing a smaller picture over the old action spectacle of the nineties:
For all the smack I've talked, I did like the movie. I had a good time - I guess I was just expecting a better time with this cast and this director. Like Danny, West was once the biggest, boldest thing working. If you don't believe me, I have another piece of evidence for you: before his first feature film (again, CON freaking AIR!!!), he was a music video director. In that life, he directed one of the most famous videos of all time:
No, I'm not deliberately Rick-rolling you; Simon West ACTUALLY directed that music video! So before you count any of these OLD GUYs out, respect the legacy.
OLD GUY is now playing in select theaters and available to rent or buy on all major streaming services.
Until next time, take care of those who take care of you.
-McEric, aka Eric McClanahan-
