Introduction
Old Guy is the new action-comedy from director Simon West (Con Air, The Expendables 2), starring two-time Academy Award Winner Christoph Waltz as Danny Dolinski, a middle-aged professional hitman killer facing the twilight of his career. The film co-stars Lucy Liu as Anata, Danny’s BFF, and Cooper Hoffman as Wihlborg, the hot new assassin on the block!
Synopsis
Danny Dolinski (Christoph Waltz) still believes he’s the best at what he does. What he does is kill people for a living. But he has been kept out of the field by his arthritic wrist and is worried his employers, ‘The Company’ will keep him stuck in his current ‘cleaning job’ i.e. disposing of fellow hitmen who mess up.
However, Danny gets the call he has been waiting for, and The Company pulls him back in, but not in the way he expects, nor appreciates. He is tasked with mentoring Gen Z newcomer Wihlborg, a prodigy assassin. Danny and Wihlborg must complete on-the-job training with the removal of a rival crime organisation, based in Northern Ireland. What the pair do not expect is the discovery of a plot that could end not only their partnership but their lives!
With the use of Danny’s instincts and experience, with Wihborg’s ice cold professionalism, the pair take matters into their own hands and prove it may not be such a bad thing to be the Old Guy…or the New Guy! The stage is set for a blend of action and laughs, as the two hitmen go on what could be their final mission!
Review
Simon West’s Old Guy desperately wants to be a Tarantino/Shane Black-esque blend of action, dark comedy, and genre self-awareness. But instead, it lands as a second-rate imitation. Featuring Christoph Waltz in second gear as an aging hitman and Lucy Liu in a thankless role, Old Guy attempts to merge gritty gangster gunplay with Pulp Fiction-inspired banter. The result? A film that talks a big game but ultimately falls flat.
Ever the professional, Waltz does his best with what he’s given. His natural charisma (which the film is reliant on) keeps Old Guy watchable, but the script forces him into a tired “grizzled veteran vs. cocky rookie” dynamic with Hoffman’s Wihlborg, a Gen Z assassin being simply a sweary, clothes horse, as opposed to fully rounded character. He’s given little to no backstory. And we are given no explanation as to how or why he’s so highly regarded by The Company as the next big thing in contract killing. His colored nail polish and loud shirts stand in for a personality.
Old Guy tries to make their odd-couple pairing amusing. Unfortunately their interactions feel more like a series of half-baked Reddit debates rather than anything genuinely sharp or funny. When a film is described as having “quirky characters,” audiences should beware. That phrase is often Hollywood code for loud and annoying. Old Guy leans heavily into that trap. Visually, there are a few well-choreographed action sequences, but nothing that hasn’t been done better elsewhere, and the running gag that Danny is no longer a straight shooter, because of his arthritis, amid shoot-outs runs cold quickly.
Verdict
Old Guy has the cast, the setup, and the potential. Instead, it settles for being a forgettable pastiche. While the film may provide mild entertainment for Waltz and action fans, Old Guy ultimately feels like a cheap knockoff rather than a fresh take on the genre. In other words…ideal for streaming.
Old Guy premiered at the Newport Beach Film Festival on October 17, 2024. The film will be released in select theaters and digitally on February 21, 2025.
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