A new action-packed sequel has topped the charts on Netflix, despite being branded ‘painful to watch’ by unimpressed fans.
The Old Guard 2 was released on July 2, almost five years to the day that the first movie premiered on the streaming platform.
Charlize Theron reprised her role as Andy, leading her team of immortal warriors who quietly protect the world at any cost – however, they are forced to contend with another mysterious threat against humanity.
KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Luca Marinelli, Veronica Ngô, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Marwan Kenzari also returned for the follow-up, while Uma Thurman and Henry Golding joined the star-studded cast.
Despite only being out a matter of days, the flick has soared straight to the top of the Netflix chart, with more than 37.5million views in the last week alone, and over 66.8m hours viewed.
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The original, which was released in 2020, also returned to the top 10 with almost 10m views in total.
However, it hasn’t gone down too well with movie-lovers and currently claims a poor 37% Rotten Tomatoes score from the audience, and an even lower ranking of 24% from unhappy critics.
Not holding back, Jeremiah J fumed: ‘First one was amazing. This one felt like a B Movie in plot and action. And the ending was so bad I wish I hadn’t watched it. Too many plot holes and nothing emotional. Felt dead and forced.’
Stephanie W demanded: ‘I want that hour and a half of my life back. The characters apparently all lost brain cells between the first movie and this. They contradict the original.
‘Waste of my life. I actually never review movies and hate this movie so much that I came here to warn others.’
‘Well, what a wet fart of a movie this is,’ Rik O posted. ‘It’s an action film that struggles with action.
‘I can’t put it into words, because even when things are happening on screen like car chases or fights, it still manages to be duller than dish water. Really disappointing.’
‘This movie was genuinely painful to watch, showing an exponential downgrade from the first film,’ Chrystian D added. ‘Poorly executed, badly told, bland, disorganized, and with an ending so generic it’s nauseating.
‘They clearly stretched the story to set up a third film, but honestly, it’s so bad and repulsive that I doubt they’ll secure the budget for another after this disaster.
‘It’s especially disappointing because the first movie completely won me over.’
Speaking of that possible third film, producer Greg Rucka touched on whether the Old Guard universe could be expanded further in a recent interview, sharing that there is definitely more to explore.
‘There is a complete three-part story that can be told,’ he previously told Looper.
‘God willing, if it’s a success, Netflix comes back and says, “Hey, let’s do it again.” There’s more to tell, and there are questions that we want to answer.’
The Old Guard 2 is available to stream on Netflix now.
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