PLOT: A treasure hunter (John Krasinski) and his estranged sister (Natalie Portman) are hired by a billionaire (Domhnall Gleeson) to find the mythical fountain of youth. They’re opposed by a deadly agent (Eiza González) of a mysterious organization that wants to keep its location a secret at all costs.
REVIEW: Fountain of Youth is a movie that, had it come out a year ago, would have no doubt made it to theaters. A few star-studded under-performers have made Apple Original Films wary of giving the movies a mainstream release, which is too bad, as Fountain of Youth probably would have done well theatrically. Of the big swings at making tentpole-style streaming hits, Fountain of Youth is on the higher end in terms of quality, thanks to a likeable cast, energetic direction, and a formula that’s hard to screw up.
While Fountain of Youth is undeniably derivative of the National Treasure and Indiana Jones films, it is cast so well that you won’t mind. John Krasinski is a great choice to play the adventurer lead, Luke Purdue, even if his motivations don’t always make sense. He’s supposed to be a treasure hunter who sells his services to the highest bidder. Still, he doesn’t seem concerned with money; he is interested instead in the glory of discovery. What’s noteworthy is that despite being the lead, one could easily view Luke as a quasi antagonist, with him more of a Belloq type than an Indiana Jones-style hero at times. The same could arguably be said for his sister, Charlotte, played by Natalie Portman, who at least is a somewhat more reluctant aid to what has to be a pretty misguided scheme, which is to give a billionaire industrialist access to the secret of eternal life.
All of this gives the movie an interesting moral twist. Eiza González’s Esme is, in some ways, the most responsible character, working at the behest of a shady benefactor (Stanley Tucci) who is bent on keeping some of the more dangerous treasures a secret. It all seems built up to lead to a potential series of films, and certainly, the cast seems game.
Krasinski gives his character a comic edge, but never plays him like a buffon. Luke is thoroughly capable and able to hold his own in the numerous fight sequences he winds up in, with his fisticuffs opposite Esme having a flirtatious style with them. Portman gets less to do in terms of action, but she does get in on some of the bigger set pieces. What’s exciting about Fountain of Youth is that much of it was shot on location in Bangkok and Vienna, which is increasingly rare as so many films opt to shoot on green screen (Portman herself addressed this in our interview).
The supporting cast is good enough that you can tell director Guy Ritchie and Apple clearly have bigger plans for the franchise beyond a single movie, with more screen time than usual devoted to supporting players. These include Adrian Moayed as a flirtatious cop who’s more than capable when it comes to the numerous scraps they come into, The Boys star Las Alonzo as the team’s Q-type character, and Tucci, whose cameo feels like a setup for something larger.
My only problem with Fountain of Youth is that the movie loses its propulsive pace after about ninety minutes. This happens once the ultimate villain is revealed, and their identity and motivations are easily predicted. The movie cried out for a substantial baddie, and they don’t deliver. The VFX-heavy climax also falls flat, especially compared to the many superior action scenes we’d seen sprinkled into the movie up to that point.
While the underwhelming conclusion and its derivative nature keep Fountain of Youth from being a great summer movie, it’s still quite entertaining. While I doubt it will keep anyone from seeing The Final Reckoning on an IMAX screen this weekend, it’s still well worth a family viewing. If they made another one I’d check it out.
