Fountain of Youth: Film Review
Guy Ritchie has been on a prolific run of late so it’s no shocker that he’s back already with the action-adventure Fountain of Youth.
The film stars John Krasinski and Natalie Portman as Luke and Charlotte Purdue, the children of an esteemed archaeologist. After a year of estrangement, their paths cross when Luke steals a famous Rembrandt painting from London’s National Gallery, where Charlotte works. It turns out that Luke has been stealing artwork to lead him to the fabled Fountain of Youth at the request of sick billionaire Owen Carver (Domhnall Gleeson). Charlotte, unemployed and in the midst of a divorce, decides to join him on his quest.
I have loved action-adventure movies ever since I saw Indiana Jones as a child so Fountain of Youth is very much my cup of tea. There were some cool moments in here that excited me – booby traps, hidden chambers and secret mechanisms – and the locations, cinematography and camera work were great, but the script and performance left a lot to be desired.
The dialogue is poor and nowhere near funny enough. The attempts at sibling banter fall flat and there are only a couple of laughs. This had the potential to be a laugh-out-loud riot but it’s let down by James Vanderbilt’s lacklustre script. This had a knock-on effect on the performances as the actors tried to do their best with their iffy lines.
Portman is an excellent actress (she has the Oscar to prove it) and I will always have a soft spot for Krasisnki, but they didn’t feel like the right fit for these characters. The script is partially to blame but I didn’t buy their sibling chemistry. It just wasn’t there. But she felt miscast in general and I can’t put my finger on why. With Krasinski, he’s a great goofball but he’s really not a charismatic action hero like Indiana Jones. On the flip side, Eiza González is well-cast as the kickass Esme, a protector of the fountain, and Gleeson is a good fit for Carver, although he should’ve had more to do.
Fountain of Youth has many flaws, with the script being the worst offender, but I enjoyed it despite them. They don’t make old-school action-adventures like this anymore!
On Apple TV+ from Friday 23rd May