The Old Man

Episode one had so much promise; Jeff Bridges, his Rottweilers and the taste of danger and drama to come. Enter John Lithgow as the perfect foil/nemesis and I thought we were really cooking. Add some intriguing flashbacks to spice up the recipe, but finally, the ridiculous Afghan-Russian conflict and the pseudo sensitive conversations that go nowhere... blah blah blah, yada yada yada. Great big let down; episodes two through six. Hopefully, they can save this one, but I wouldn't count on it.

I loved the book. Unfortunately the adaption is stretched into a drawn out affair. I love Jeff Bridges, but the jumping past and present leaves the present day narrative poorly attended. This story could easily have been told in 4 episodes.

Had high hopes, but 65% is overdrawn dialogue and reaction shots. We get the point, they're scared/concerned/angry. No need for the oversell. Episode 1-2 showed promise, but it seems they didn't discard any edits to help string the series out.

They should play this to insomniacs that don't respond to standard medication.

In 6 months, Jeff Bridges will turn 73 years old. Indeed, he is an old man. 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. Starting in Peter Bogdanovich's seminal "The Last Picture Show," Bridges continued to build an enviable career out of numerous carefully drawn roles, each one truly unique and most of them more memorable than the last. He was finally awarded his long overdue Best Actor Oscar for "Crazy Heart" a few years ago, and then last year we almost lost him because of CoVID-19. But he's back as a beat-up old ex-spy and is perfect for and in this latest complex part.

In 4 months, John Lithgow will be 77 years old. Also by most narrow definitions, an old man. 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.

Supporting roles for such long-time pros as Amy Brenneman and Joel Gray are also well written and, of course, superbly well performed. But no mistake: this miniseries totally belongs to the one and only Jeff Bridges. And by extension, to all of us who remain his long-time fans more than a half century later. Not to be missed. 9/10.

The Old Man is a spy thriller that is absolutely worth watching! Jeff Bridges is as terrific as always and does an incredible job making you believe he's still a bad ass at 72! His dogs steal every scene they're in and remind me of the dogs from John Wick. The rest of the cast all are at the top of their game here too, especially John Lithgow (who rarely disappoints). I know there are a lot of really good spy shows out there to choose from but this has everything you want from a spy thriller and should definitely be seen. I'm really looking forward to more and recommend this to anyone who's a fan of spy thrillers.