Fountain of Youth Review

Fountain of Youth is streaming present connected Apple TV+.

John Krasinski’s quest to transcript each of Harrison Ford’s homework continues successful Fountain of Youth, which sees Krasinski pivot from his relation arsenic Jack Ryan to that of a globetrotting, past artefact-hunting rascal. This time, though, he’s chosen poorly. While Fountain of Youth cribs from immoderate of the precise champion treasure-tracking adventures Hollywood has ever had to offer, it struggles somewhat astatine each accidental to show overmuch imaginativeness of its own.

As you’d expect from a movie that isn’t hiding its inspirations, the setup doesn’t incorporate a batch of surprises. When Luke Purdue (Krasinski) is conscripted by an Irish billionaire to uncover the whereabouts of the fabled Fountain, helium soon crosses paths with his sister, Charlotte (Natalie Portman). Charlotte stepped distant from the beingness of escapade she antecedently led alongside her member and their father, Harrison (cough), to go a depository curator – but Luke’s self-serving stunts rapidly spot her swept up successful the quest herself. It’s an escapade that moves astatine a accelerated clip, from Thailand to the Celtic Sea, and London to Cairo – with a mates of different stops successful between.

To its credit, Fountain of Youth gets disconnected to a flying start, demonstrating an contiguous and admirable committedness to applicable stuntwork. An opening conveyance pursuit is precise good executed, and manager Guy Ritchie (of Snatch, Sherlock Holmes, and The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare fame) follows it up by prodding Krasinski to leap onto a moving train. A 2nd conveyance pursuit rapidly follows wrong the archetypal 15 minutes – this clip featuring an immaculate AC Cobra 427 carving up London successful a powerslide-peppered flight that would astir apt permission the shade of Carroll Shelby grinning from receptor to ear. “You underestimate my prime successful cars,” Krasinski quips to his suitably ill-looking on-screen sister. Allow maine to importune that I don’t, astatine least.

All of that leaves it feeling frontloaded, though, due to the fact that Fountain of Youth’s weaknesses statesman soon afterwards. It simply loses steam arsenic it settles into its formulaic groove. Krasinski cruises arsenic Luke, who often comes disconnected similar a somewhat much motivated (and somewhat much horny) mentation of The Office’s Jim Halpert. That means he’s mostly likeable, whenever he’s not outright bullying his sister into getting his ain way. Portman is fine, too, adjacent if the publication compels her to beryllium a batch much diligent with the antics of her member than I fishy astir siblings would manage.

The remaining formed are mostly squandered. Eiza González seems to beryllium enjoying herself, but it’s a one-dimensional gig compared to her scene-stealing spy relation successful The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. The Star Wars sequels’ Domhnall Gleeson has a mates of neat moments, but helium doesn’t truly get to propulsion the vessel retired overmuch arsenic the movie crescendos. The Penguin’s Carmen Ejogo and The Boys’ Laz Alonso are comprehensively wasted successful sidekick stints and are asked to lend precise little, overmuch to Fountain of Youth’s detriment.

Even the inimitable Stanley Tucci departs arsenic rapidly arsenic helium arrives. I conjecture it’s imaginable he’s being shelved for a sequel that whitethorn oregon not ever come. In that instance, Fountain of Youth fans tin articulation the queue down existing Guy Ritchie aficionados. (We’re casual to spot – we’re the ones carrying ample signs looking for The Real RocknRolla.)

Screenwriter James Vanderbilt (known for Zodiac, The Amazing Spider-Man films, and Murder Mystery) has plundered the likes of Steven Spielberg's unimpeachable Indiana Jones trilogy and Stephen Sommers’ legendary and much-loved The Mummy for each the parts helium needed to assemble this story. The handsome rogue hero, a brother-sister duo – Fountain of Youth is playing the hits. It adjacent has its ain concealed nine of sworn protectors, due to the fact that of what worthy is immoderate past knick knack if it doesn’t person its ain Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword oregon Medjai keeping it harmless from swarthy ne'er-do-wells?

A halt on the mode that mines Vanderbilt’s ain idiosyncratic household past is simply a cute interaction for those who’ve done their homework and are inactive paying attraction aft watching truthful galore boxes get checked, and it comes amid different slick enactment series connected an awesome and waterlogged applicable set. You’ll conscionable request to disregard the information that it’s a brazen maritime transgression for which our heroes look nary consequences oregon adjacent introspection. “We’re not sedate robbers,” insists Portman successful the moment. I conjecture it’s not stealing from a sedate if you’re just… “borrowing” the whole grave?

The biggest problems with the Fountain of Youth, however, are the things it doesn’t steal. Primarily, for the immense bulk of the clip there’s simply nary wide villain. Unlike Indiana Jones oregon The Mummy determination are neither Nazis nor supernatural nasties successful the mix, and the crippled suffers from a deficiency of hostility arsenic a result. They conscionable person billions of dollars to burn, and a beauteous escaped deadline. Luke’s encounters with the radical trying to get him to springiness up his hunt are not the aforesaid arsenic Indy racing to observe the Holy Grail earlier Donovan and Vogel, oregon Rick O’Connell and his squad hustling to Hamunaptra successful clip to halt Imhotep. Vanderbilt could’ve adjacent cribbed a small from 2003’s treasure hunting buddy drama The Rundown successful this instance, which was buoyed passim by a captivatingly cruel Christopher Walken. Vanderbilt co-wrote that himself, aft all.

Conspicuously, there’s besides a deficiency of immoderate of the wonderment of find that oozes from Indiana Jones himself, oregon from The Mummy’s Evelyn Carnahan. It doesn’t assistance that Luke and his squad look mostly contented to simply fto their computers effort to lick the puzzles they brushwood from the clues they glean on the way. I conjecture it’s indicative of however a batch of radical are operating successful 2025, including kids asking ChatGPT to bash their homework for them, but it feels rather soulless to watch.