2025 marked a long-awaited return to action movies for Uma Thurman. Although the actress is not traditionally a fixture in major blockbusters, she still delivered arguably one of her best and most iconic performances in this genre thanks to Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Kill Bill: Vol. 2.

Her portrayal as the ᴅᴇᴀᴅly Bride left a lasting impression on pop culture, ranging from her recognizable yellow jumpsuit to her impressive fight scenes. As two of Uma Thurman’s best movies, this was the type of role that teased how incredible it would be if she continued to explore this genre and kick ʙuтт in other action roles.

Yet, that is not what happened. In the 20 years after Kill Bill: Vol. 2‘s release, Thurman did not star in a single action movie, even as she did just about every other genre imaginable. Her hiatus only built up greater expectations for whatever action movie could convince her to play a part.

So while the wait for Kill Bill 3 continued, the news that she’d be in The Old Guard 2 opposite Charlize Theron created a lot of excitement. The 2025 film marks her return to action, which makes the end result all the more disappointing.

Uma Thurman Is Totally Wasted In The Old Guard 2

Despite being an icon of the action genre, there’s something about Uma Thurman’s new role in The Old Guard 2 that doesn’t feel as exciting or compelling as some of her previous characters. She plays the villainous Discord, a dangerous immortal who rescues Andy’s old friend from the depths of the sea and uses her for her own nefarious plans.

Although The Old Guard 2 does a good job of establishing Discord as a reasonable threat, the actress simply isn’t given enough screen time to leave much of an impact. She barely even makes an appearance until the film’s final act, which basically just serves as a teaser for the prospective Old Guard 3.

It also doesn’t help that Discord is clearly overshadowed by Quynh as The Old Guard 2’s most compelling villain. The extensive history between Andy and Quynh gives their conflict a personal edge that’s totally missing from Discord’s character, whom Andy has never even heard of before the events of this sequel. She’s the dangerous puppetmaster, but her puppets are so much more interesting.

It’s clear that a showdown between Charlize Theron and Uma Thurman is on The Old Guard’s horizon, but the recent sequel doesn’t give audiences any reason to care about what happens to the villain. The movie spends so much time explaining the mechanics of immortality, spoon-feeding the audience all the details they need, that by the time Discord and Andy finally meet, their encounter feels rushed.

Uma Thurman does a good job with the little material she’s given, but that’s not satisfying enough. Her commanding screen presence ensures that viewers know Discord isn’t somebody to be messed with, and her hand-to-hand combat scenes are very reminiscent of her work in Kill Bill and similar action spectacles.

While this proves to be a waste of Uma Thurman‘s action return, it does suggest she’s still more than capable of being a star in the genre. So if The Old Guard 3 doesn’t eventually capitalize on her potential, another action film should look to bring her aboard.