Old Man (2022) ”Old Dog and New Tricks”

I am far from a fan of spy dramas with stories of secret agents, their problems and the desire to lead a normal quiet life. Even if I came across films with such a theme, they quickly disappeared from memory after a while. And it seems to me that the same thing will happen to this series. Although he may like just fans of this militant subtype. There are some advantages in the series that I appreciated, but in general I can say that it is at once. The main problem of the "old man" is that the scriptwriters tried to complicate too much and stretch a very simple and linear story. Because of this, the viewing becomes heavy, and what is happening too long.

But let’s get a better understanding of the problems and advantages of this relatively fresh series.

General information

The Old Man – This is a film adaptation of the same detective novel Thomas Perry, The premiere of which began June 16, 2022, A September 12, 2024 The first episode of the second season was released. The approximate release date of the third season is already known now: June 18, 2026. I would like to read the source, but the book is only in English. If you don’t have a language barrier, you can find the original.

Genres: militant, thriller, drama.

In the first season 7 episodes, and in the second 8 to 40-50 minutes. In the title role starred Jeff Briders – Laureate of the Academy of Sciences and Golden Globe for the best male role in the film "Crazy heart". And I know him only by the film "Big Lebovski" starring.

With his participation in the stages of production, serious difficulties arose. So, in March 2020, the shooting was frozen due to coronavirus pandemia, in October of the same year I again had to stop the work due to the diagnosis of Briders-it was found in the lymphoma.

In September 2021, the actor stated that his disease was in remission, so the work could continue again.

Despite all unpleasant circumstances and health https://captaincookscasinoonline.uk/withdrawal/ problems, Jeff Briders perfectly played his main role in the series. It was his experience and natural charm that made the main character of the series "Old Man" so lively and voluminous.

And let’s just get acquainted with the culprit of this drama.

Plot

In the center of the picture of a 72-year-old widower Dan Chase, living his calm days in Vermont with his two faithful rottweilers. He does the same as almost any old man in retirement: he goes for groceries, checks with the doctor, walks and plays with his dogs, communicates with his beloved daughter. However, everything changes dramatically when a hired killer attacks his house one night. And judging by what professionalism and cold -blooded, the old man is cut off with the ill -wisher, it immediately becomes clear that he is not an ordinary pensioner. Everything is so, before Dan worked as an operative in the CIA, and in 1980 he took a mission in Afghanistan, where he met his fame.

Because of the chain of his reckless decisions in the past, now he has to reckon not only with the consequences, but also his own internal conflicts. In addition, Dan’s life will greatly complicate the high -ranking agent of the FBI – Harold Harper, who has a clear order to catch Chase, because one of his secrets of the past surfaced and can destroy the life of not only the retirement operative himself, but also everyone who is connected with this.

That did not please retron

In my opinion, the series has two main problems: the complication of the plot with political ups and downs, attempts by screenwriters with complex words to tell a linear predictable story; and a strong imbalance of action scenes with lyrical dialogs. The description of the series says that this is an “action -packed” action movie, however, the Flashback of the GG and huge stretched dialogs occupy the lion’s share of the screen time of the first season. It seems to me in the acquaintance of the viewer with the series this will greatly spoil the impression. In the second season, the situation was somewhat leveled and everything looks more harmonious and exciting.

According to purely personal sensations, the balance of an action -packed action movie and drama is very violated. The first season is excessively filled with constant flashbacks of the protagonist, which could be reduced – the essence of the narrative will remain the same. On the other hand, thanks to them, Dan Chase turned out to be very versatile and realistic, and not the next cardboard character of a spy militant. It was precisely because of this that it was interesting to observe the actions of Chase, because it was fully shown both from the ruthless killer, and an ordinary person who copes not only with old-age problems, but also with personal heavy experiences. The actor just handed them perfectly.

The series is based on canonical cliches and techniques of classic militants about spies. It has little originality, it is very straightforward, consistent and extremely clear. There is no central intriguing secret there. No matter how much the scriptwriters try to display a political drama, which in the second season occupies most of the chrono, everything is extremely clear and in fact it is not at all difficult. Russians, as usual, universal evil, hah.

What pleased Retron

Firstly, I liked the shooting and shots of the picturesque nature of Afghanistan, where important events take place in the second season.

Secondly, good acting Casta. At the heart of the plot, it is more time to devote more time to drama and relationships between heroes, not an action. The actors themselves cope well with the transmission of complex emotions and the creation of a tense atmosphere in the most encouraged moments. Despite the more often obvious and weak plot moves, where the viewer cannot drive the nose by the nose of the alleged death of the characters, you can’t say so on the actors themselves. In some moments it even turns out to believe them that they really lost a loved one.

The past of the main characters and their motives in the present managed to reveal in sufficient detail, but the main part of their personality stories is confident for the third season, so now it makes no sense to present a complete picture.

The fact that the series extended strongly in my eyes is the game of Jeff Briders and what Dan Chase turned out to be thanks to him. I am almost not familiar with the filmography of Briders, but I can definitely say that I like his game in the "old man". He was able to fully show the character from different angles, leaving him just a cool cruel spy with a heavy past and steel heart. I liked that in the scenes of Dan Chase appears before us a real cold -blooded monster who has no moral principles and he is not afraid to stain his hands in his blood. In other moments, he plays and talks with his favorites with genuine sincerity or listens how things are with his beloved daughter. He shows health problems, as the age allows you to know his lonely life. This contrast of the parties to the personality of the character is high -quality, so he becomes multifaceted and it is easier to empathize with him.

The outer layer of the former Crushnik is closed, coldness, cruelty, which borders on pure recklessness-because of this it is often not clear how the character will behave in a particular tense situation: it will show calm and prudence or succumb to an angry impulse. This is what creates the right atmospheric stress for the viewer. But what is inside Chase – you still need to get the old man himself in order to let go of your past and save the present.

The rest of the heroes are also revealed well, especially I liked the dynamics of the fugitive Chase and the Fbrovites Harper, who should catch him. They are connected by such complex relationships in the past that it is now intriguing to observe this rivalry and attempts to constantly prove something to each other. Moreover, it is simply obvious to everyone that none of them want this enmity at all. But since the US government just really wants this, and our old people on opposite sides of the barricades have to play these "cats-mouse".

The overall impression of this series has developed this: it is so specific, viscous drama with a relatively small amount of active actions (we are talking about the first season) that it will not be so difficult to abandon the viewing halfway. Think, "Old man" Two categories of people will appeal to: fans of the actor’s game in the title role and fans of classic spy dramas. The former will highly appreciate their idol, as he played perfectly. And the second will like a characteristic approach to history about secret agents with well -shown elements such as operational work, reconnaissance, surveillance and so on. Those who are far from the game of Briders and the drama of watching spies are enough for one season. By personal feelings, I can say that I have a series at a time. He did not interest me enough to wait for the third season. However, trying to look at a new genre is always interesting.