Time: 125 Minutes
Age Rating: M – offensive language, violence
Cast:
John Krasinski as Luke Purdue
Natalie Portman as Charlotte Purdue
Eiza González as Esme
Domhnall Gleeson as Owen Carver
Arian Moayed as Inspector Jamal Abbas
Laz Alonso as Patrick Murphy
Carmen Ejogo as Deb McCall
Stanley Tucci as the Elder
Director: Guy Ritchie

I first saw Fountain of Youth advertised as an Apple TV movie, it looked like an incredibly generic adventure movie and I was surprised to learn that it was Guy Ritchie’s latest movie. I checked it out because of his involvement, and it certainly was an uninspired and forgettable adventure flick, even if I had some enjoyment with it.

Fountain of Youth is derivative of far superior treasure hunting adventure movies. Yes, you can see it taking from classics like Indiana Jones, but even other similar movies like National Treasure do much better to stand out on their own. The script is uninspired, predictable and generic, the tension isn’t felt, and there aren’t many surprises here. The closest thing to an actual twist is easy to figure out early on. Even by adventure movie standards, Fountain of Youth is rather forgettable, and lacks the excitement and charm needed for this kind of film. For what it was worth though, I was reasonably entertained throughout.

While Fountain of Youth has assembled a good cast, most of the actors aren’t utilised the best. As the main adventurer and treasure seeker protagonist, John Krasinski is miscast, and doesn’t have the charm needed to pull this role off. Natalie Portman is fine, but really isn’t given the best material here and her character feels out of place in this movie in the worst way. The supporting cast fare a little bit better, including Domhnall Gleeson and Eiza Gonzalez. Gonzalez particularly is in tune with the tone of the movie, and was one of the highlights.

One thing with Guy Ritchie is that while his movies can be very different, whether it be more stylised or less, there is usually a degree of energy you can feel throughout. His direction is fine enough, but I didn’t feel that energy here, it just feels like a competently made straight to streaming adventure flick, which it was. The cinematography is passable, if unremarkable, the production design is good, and there are some fun action set pieces. Christopher Benstead has been composing scores for Guy Ritchie films ever since The Gentlemen and every single time his music ends up being one of the highlights of the film, and Fountain of Youth is no exception.

Fountain of Youth is an above average entertaining enough adventure movie, if very derivative and familiar and one of Guy Ritchie’s weakest,