"The Old Man"

Part of my initial problem with this series was that I didn't know what it was supposed to be.  It opens with the issues old people face -- isolation, loss of a loved one, peeing a lot in the middle of the night.  Then it turns into a physical, and very bloody, spy adventure.  Fight scenes are prolonged, with the grunting and the dying drawn out.  Then it turns into a kind of "guy on the run" thing, with the main character befriending strangers on the way.  And it keeps making turns.  The acting is good, of course.  Jeff Bridges and a large supporting cast are great.  I kind of love John Lithgow and it is delightful to see Joel Grey again, however briefly.  I liked Amy Brenneman in this production more than anything else I've seen her in.  She does a terrific job of straddling impossible realities.  Alia Shawkat is delightful and the actors playing the young Jeff Bridges and John Lithgow nail the likenesses.  Every single character is given dimension and depth, even the assassins.  There are ruminations -- are terrorists born or made?  What is a terrorist?  The language is chosen, specific.  It's almost Shakespearean, with subtle nods to "Hamlet" and "Richard III".  I didn't care for the fisticuffs, which were more brutal than necessary, IMHO, but I watched the entire thing because once I started, I kind of had to keep going.  Thought it was a limited series.  It's not.  Be prepared for a cliff-hangar ending.  I wasn't.