Fountain of Youth (2025) Review: A Wildly Generic Treasure Hunting Flick From a Cast and Crew That's Anything But
If you had told me 6 months ago that a treasure hunting film directed by Guy Ritchie, written by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac, Scream 2022) that stars John Krasinski, Natalie Portman, Eiza Gonzalez and Domhnall Gleeson would be coming out, I would've expected much more fanfare. You'd think that a cast and crew that loaded would be deadset for a theatrical window and a large marketing budget. Instead, almost in a wimper, Apple dropped their original onto Apple TV+ the same weekend that Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning and Lilo & Stitch hit theaters. If Fountain of Youth were any better, I'd be more inclined to call it a crime against the film though.
Fountain of Youth opens right in the middle of what seems to be a heist gone wrong featuring Luke Purdue (Krasinski) as he tries to lift a painting from criminals in Thailand. In what's an incredibly elaborate sequence, Luke evades capture and fights off bandits in a solidly impressive set piece I've come to expect from someone like Ritchie. His action fingers are all over the set pieces of this film. In those respects its impressive. But through all the action and stunt work that get's audiences right into the thick of it, I felt there was something missing. A particular "sauce" that brings films like these together. And unfortunately that lies with Krasinski and his performance. Treasure hunting films rely on the lead to have a particular "it factor" to work. Somewhere around what Nicolas Cage does in National Treasure or Harrison Ford in Indiana Jones.
After watching Mission: Impossible and then moving to this film, it was clear that someone like Tom Cruise or Cage or Ford bring an intangible juice to films that Krasinski just doesn't have as an action star. Don't get me wrong, he can be particularly charismatic in a The Office-type role. But here it just feels off. Sure he can pull off all the moves and looks the part. But the intangibles just aren't there. It's like watching Russell Wilson play QB in 2024. The parts may be there and the name certainly gets recognition, but he just can't do what a Lamar Jackson or a Patrick Mahomes can. Not anymore at least.
After Luke gets away with the stolen painting, he encounters Esme (Gonzalez), a mysterious somebody that flags as an ancient protector a la "Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword" from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade almost immediately. She attempts to take the painting from Luke but he inevitably gets away, setting up the films overarching chase. Luke then goes to meet his sister Charlotte Purdue (Portman), a former treasure hunter turned museum curator going through a divorce. He tries unsuccessfully to recruit her to his team of hunters, in which case he steals another painting and Charlotte chases after him, inevitably getting fired for supposedly being involved, in which event she joins the crew that includes Domhnall Gleeson, Laz Alonso and Carmen Ejogo in the search for the Fountain of Youth.
All these plot beats play extremely by-the-book, as if lifted from every other film of it's type throughout history. Fountain of Youth plays extremely predictably in that sense. You pretty much know exactly how things will play out well before they do. That could be excused if the characters work. But Krasinski and Portman have exactly zero chemistry as the lead sibling duo the film hinges on. Portman especially feels rather flat which was disappointing given that she's an incredible actress.
A lot of the issues that arise can fall down onto Guy Ritchie. He fails to get the most out of the cast he's presented with. The film, while having some really cool set pieces that he's known for, does little to maintain interest in the slower moments. Ritchie's been on a sort of "one for you, one for me" schedule and this really feels like one for the studio. Too often they go through the motions of creating a film that satisfies corporate analytics and what the studio says the audience will like versus making a film that actually appeals to people.
The end product becomes something that's just "enjoyable enough". The set pieces provide enough eye candy that'll keep you interested, but not much more. Those set pieces, though, are cool and feel like the type of Guy Ritchie film audiences have come to expect. It's just everything between those moments that leave much to be desired. I feel that Fountain of Youth is an unfortunate case of eye candy that passes the "look who's involved" test much more than the "look what these people made" test.