Streaming on: Disney+
Episodes viewed: 7 of 7
Plenty of veteran actors have pivoted to become out-and-out action stars in their later years, and The Old Man sees Jeff Bridges join the likes of Liam Neeson and Bob Odenkirk among the ranks of geriaction heroes. He’s certainly had his moments in the past (True Grit, Blown Away, Iron Man), but The Old Man takes Bridges’ hard-man credentials to an entirely new level.
Created by Robert Levine and Jonathan E. Steinberg (whose TV writing CVs include See, Black Sails and Jericho) and based on Thomas Perry’s 2017 bestseller of the same name, the show sees Bridges play former CIA badass Dan Chase — a man who can tackle an assassin half his age and still have the energy to whip up a mean plate of scrambled eggs. But as so often happens in these kinds of stories, the sins of the past catch up with him, and for Dan, that means shady government-sanctioned spy stuff in foreign lands. Yet even with the records wiped, memories remain and grudges hold firm.
Most of this first season (a second season has already been ordered) spends its time whipping through the plot and giving Bridges a chance to put the beatdown on a variety of enemies. But the show becomes more layered and emotional as it goes along, with standouts being John Lithgow as friend-turned-frenemy Harold Harper, a fellow long-in-the-tooth counterintelligence expert who prefers brains over brawn, and Harper’s protégé Angela Adams (Alia Shawkat), who’s all spiky wit and sarcasm. Amy Brenneman, meanwhile, shows untapped grit as Zoe, from whom Dan rents a room and who becomes wrapped up in his fight to stay one step ahead of his enemies.
The famous Bridges charm still shines through, and the stunt team ensures his character has all the right moves.
Flashback scenes set during Chase’s time in Afghanistan, helping one warlord against the Soviets (before, er, absconding with someone he shouldn’t have), are less winning. Bill Heck makes for an engaging younger Dan, but the storyline he’s in, while crucial to the present-day narrative, unfolds with far less drive and interest. You’ll likely find yourself wishing we were back with Bridges kicking ass or setting dogs on people. And yes, a high point — though sparingly used — are Dan’s dogs, Dave and Carol, the most highly-trained pooches this side of Halle Berry’s attack hounds in John Wick: Chapter 3. They’re incredibly docile — until Dan gives them a particular command in German.
Elsewhere, there are some familiar beats to be followed, but Dan’s sheer inventiveness when his back is against the wall (think The A-Team on their best days, with a far more murderous attitude to gun play) is extremely watchable as you try to figure out just what he’ll do next. He’s gruff and to the point, but the famous Bridges charm still shines through, and the stunt team ensures his character has all the right moves. With a tone that swings between pulpy and thoughtful, The Old Man makes for a highly effective longform action thriller.
