Available today on Disney+, The Old Man series features Jeff Bridges in his first lead role on television. He plays a former CIA agent, off the radar for years, and caught up in his past.
What is it about ?
Dan Chase, an ex-CIA agent on the run for several years, is now forced to come to terms with his past to ensure his future when he discovers that an assassin is trying to eliminate him.
Based on the eponymous novel by Thomas Perry.
The Old Man, a series created by Jon Steinberg and Robert Levine with Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, Bill Heck, Alia Shawkat, Amy Brenneman… Two episodes from September 28 on Disney+ then one episode per week. Episodes viewed: 3 out of 7
Who is it with?
We no longer need to introduce Jeff Bridges, a magnificent film actor, who takes on the first leading role in a TV series for the first time in his long and successful career. In The Old Man, he plays Dan Chase, a former CIA agent who has lived off the radar for 30 years.
After killing a man who breaks into his home, he is forced to flee and hide. He then rents a room to Zoe McDonald, a woman in the middle of a divorce played by Amy Brenneman. But his hiding place with this woman will not remain incognito for very long…
Harold Harper, played by the formidable John Lithgow, is the FBI’s Deputy Director for Counterintelligence. He is called in to apprehend Chase, due to their shared and complicated past during the Soviet-Afghan War. Working alongside Harper are his protege, FBI agent Angela Adams (played by Alia Shawkat) and CIA officer Raymond Waters (EJ Bonilla).
We also meet Gbenga Akinnagbe (The Wire) who plays Julian Carson, a contract killer hired by Harper…
Well worth a look ?
Many veteran actors have become action stars at a mature age. In The Old Man, Jeff Bridges joins Liam Neeson and Bob Odenkirk in the category of hard-hitting action movie heroes. If he’s still familiar with the action (Blown Away, True Grit, Iron Man), The Old Man now makes Jeff Bridges a competitive badass.
Created by Robert Levine and Jonathan Steinberg (who notably worked on See) and based on the eponymous bestseller by Thomas Perry published in 2017, the series follows Dan Chase, a former CIA agent, capable of attacking a assassin twice as young as him while keeping the energy necessary to prepare a good plate of scrambled eggs.
A few flashback scenes return to Dan Chase’s past. If they are essential to understanding what is happening in the present, they are not the most addictive. Nevertheless, the introduction of this first season (a second has already been ordered) quickly moves the plot forward and gives Jeff Bridges the opportunity to put some good beatings on various enemies.
FX Networks. All rights reserved. Jeff Bridges as Dan Chase
But the series also gains depth and emotion as it progresses. That’s the part that goes to John Lithgow as friend-turned-foe Harold Harper, a long-mouthed counterintelligence expert who prefers smarts to brawn.
As for Angela Adams (Alia Shawkat), she is much more than Harper’s protege, a young woman full of wit and sarcasm. His character is growing. And we are surprised to see Amy Brenneman in a completely different light in the role of Zoe, to whom Dan rents a room and who finds herself embroiled in his headlong rush.
The Old Man stands out from other series of the genre for the inventiveness of Dan when he has his back against the wall and we try to guess what he will do next. Never find. He’s gruff and straight to the point, but Jeff Bridges’ famous charm still shines through. With a tone that oscillates between pulp and something much more thoughtful, The Old Man is a very effective long-form action thriller.
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The Old Man on Disney +: what is the action series where Jeff Bridges beats up?