At first it’s hard to believe The Old Man could be a spy thriller. The Disney+ series opens with mighty Jeff Bridges groaning to put on socks. His elderly but AWOL CIA agent – the too aptly named Dan Chase – makes doctor’s appointments to discuss ailments he doesn’t even have. “When I was a little girl, you were a king,” his daughter tells him, seemingly testing out lines for dad’s eulogy.
Soon, though, the diminished king’s past catches up with him, forcing a return to imperial form. Turns out it’s like riding a bike. By the end of the first hour, Dan’s polishing off the upstarts sent to apprehend him with the kind of lethal timing that belongs in a Bond film. When one foe spits, “F*** you, old man,” at the end of a drag-out fistfight, Dan has his dogs – who must have been lurking nearby the entire time – finish him. Why didn’t he call in the dogs earlier? Probably because this way looks cooler.
