A veteran hitman (Christoph Waltz) is paired alongside a younger accomplice (Cooper Hoffman) in this buddy action comedy about old age, double-crossing bosses, and heavy-duty gunfire.
An enjoyable joyride despite the usual genre clichés. Old Guy belongs to the new wave of “dad” action films that serve up a cocktail of gun-toting machismo, mid-life crisis, and senior-citizen health concerns. The trend perhaps started with Taken, following which Liam Neeson found his second calling as an action star. But it’s films like the Bob Odenkirk-starrer Nobody and, more recently, Ke Huy Quan’s action-comedy Love Hurts that inject some snarky, self-aware humor into this subgenre. In the case of Old Guy, the title itself suggests the kind of film it aspires to be. The premise is simple: Aging contract killer Danny Dolinski is on the verge of retirement even though he is still ardent about sticking his hand to the gun. Enter the bratty protégé (a so-so Cooper Hoffman) and a fellow veteran (a wasted Lucy Liu) and you know what you’re getting into. West’s by-the-numbers action flick offers no new thrills or multi-dimensional characters, but none of that stops Old Guy from being an enjoyable one-time watch. Some decent shootouts and car chases keep the engines running even though the main attraction is the titular “old guy.”
Christoph Waltz is in his element. What makes Old Guy bearable despite its beaten tropes is, without a doubt, Waltz’s lead performance. The two-time Oscar winner is refashioned as an action star in his 60s while retaining his usual wisecracking dialogue delivery and cucumber-cool energy. He’s no Liam Neeson here, but his sarcasm-laden banter with Hoffman’s younger assassin is enough to sustain the narrative. When Old Guy dives into more fast-paced territory, Waltz is also convincing enough as a skilled hitman past his prime. Whether he’s downing cocktails and dancing in a neon-lit rave or struggling to fire a gun with his recent arm fracture, Waltz acts as the firm backbone of this otherwise creaky action flick.
A cliched but enjoyable entry for “dad film” enthusiasts.
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