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The Old Man (2022)

2022 · Action,Drama,Thriller · spy-contemporary, contemporary-realistic

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The Old Man is a US prestige spy thriller built around the formidable pairing of Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow, following a burnt-out former intelligence operative dragged back into danger from quiet retirement. Its texture is dialogue-heavy and slow-burn, prioritizing character ambiguity, moral complexity, and the physical reality of aging over kinetic action — though a standout fight sequence in the pilot signals it can deliver on genre expectations. Season 1 earns near-universal praise for its performances, intrigue, and atmospheric restraint; Season 2 draws criticism for ponderous scripting and diminishing narrative focus. The dogs are universally beloved. Best suited for viewers who prize character-driven spy drama over plot velocity.

From the reviewers

His character makes those grunting noises from the effort of arising in the morning, and you also overhear a very sporadic urine stream in the middle of the night.
Is he the obvious villain of this story, or might he actually be the hero? You are never quite sure with a Lithgow character, and this one's no exception.
The exhaustion and pain in the fighting scenes are spot on. Anyone who has been in a real street brawl with life at stake knows how fake and nonsense most tv fight scenes are. Only a few shows have ever gotten it right. This is one of them.
Top rate actors, Bridges and Lithgow, and realism make a generic plot exceptional.
most of the dialogue is ridiculously ponderous. Some of Lithgow's lines come off as so basic that it's nearly laughable. His character appears to have just been hired into the intelligence community. This is not the actor's fault, it's the script.

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