The Old Man, a serviceable new action series/political intrigue drama based on the 2017 novel by Thomas Perry, gets to the point in the title. Jeff Bridges plays the old man, who is somewhere between 60 and 70 years old, lives alone with his two large dogs, appears to be in his sunset days – and can outwit a team of FBI agents and out-tussle men half his age.
The seven-part limited series, developed by Jonathan E Steinberg and Robert Levine, is a better-than-it-should-be braid of male fantasies: hyper-competency in late age, the ability to protect loved ones from forces larger than they understand, having superior combat skills applied justly, proving people wrong and being ultimately right. I mostly enjoyed the four episodes made available for review, despite some prolonged, knuckle-smashing fight scenes that were well-simulated but draining. Much of the show’s success comes down to Bridges, who anchors a rickety character visibly battered by the past yet able to shapeshift in the present.
