There’s a new James Bond in town and he’s not with M16. Austrian-German Christoph Waltz still has it in his 60s. He has a Sean Connery-like brogue, hair coif, handsome eye twinkle and a snazzy car. We meet him early in the film rocking out at a DJ club in London and then waking up the next day with three lovely women strewn about his bedroom. His day-job cover is working in a bakery, where he can’t avoid cooking up trouble.
I don’t remember Bond needing a cover job, but then Waltz, playing contract hitman Danny Dolinski, works for a crime syndicate, not the British Secret Intelligence Service. But like Bond, he has a wry sense of humor, focused dedication, and a way with the ladies.
Dolinski’s sure he’s got values and he believes in the value of his work: getting rid of the bad guys. But he also has a problem. He messed up his shooting hand and had to have surgery. It will take several weeks to heal and he doesn’t get sick leave.
Oh, wait. He not only doesn’t have sick leave, the syndicate, known as The Company, is rebranding. Youth across the board. Dolinski can retire or train a good recruit with a problematic high collateral damage record. Insulted and protesting, he reluctantly agrees in order to stay in the game. His new protégé, named Wihlborg, is perfectly played by baby-faced Cooper Hoffman.
Lucy Liu is a flashy dash of feminist energy. Not involved in the syndicate, she still considers Dolinski a best friend. She is a svelte club-owner anxious for legitimacy through her doctor date. But aging Dolinski also has an eye on her.
I’m sorry the filmmaking team couldn’t make this a PG film. There is just too much detail in the creative dénouements embedded in the battle/execution scenes. But through it all, I was haunted by Dolinski showing Wihlborg how to make the hitman craft elevated, compassionate, and ethical. Credit goes to the writer, Greg Johnson.
On a second training expedition, deep into a dark night, Dolinski and Wihlborg have their silencers trained on a guy in an opposing crime syndicate. But then his sweet little pajama-clad granddaughter comes into the room for a glass of water. Dolinski morphs into a doting uncle-like character, charming the little girl into the kitchen for the water and then back up to bed. He’s not going to let her witness the murder of her grandpa.
The bigger trick in the film is when The Company gets involved in a betrayal. All prior approximations of ethics are off the table and Dolinski’s mother and Lucy Liu become targets.
The warring crime syndicates and their own internal struggles are reminiscent of our real international jousting. In the Bond films, there were true villains who threatened the stability and viability of the world order. But in this more localized microcosm of the war world, themes of adaptation, redemption, and teamwork play out to create a new Bond-like drama paralleling humankind’s perpetual thrill in murderous adventure and challenging struggles for power.
Credits
Director: Simon West
Writer: Greg Johnson
Producers: Jib Polhemus, Martin Brennan, Hal Sadoff, and Norman Golightly
Cast: Christoph Waltz, Cooper Hoffman, Lucy Liu, Ryan McParland, Ann Akinjirin, Jason Done, Tony Hirst, Kate Katzman, Conor Mullen and Rory Mullen
RATING: R for violence, language and some drug use
Released: Feb. 21, 2025
Official Website and how to view: https://theavenue.film/movies/old-guy
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