Never Too Late (2020)

(On Cable TV, September 2021) The premise of Never Too late should feel familiar, because it plays into the recent trend of movies that exist to give aging actors one more entry in their filmographies as elderly men of action asked once again to ply their special skills. In this case, we have James Cromwell playing a Vietnam-era operative now shuffled to a retirement home for veterans, where he meets fellow men of action and starts planning to break out of the locked-up facility—for love! It’s supposed to be a comedy and often is, but it does have its share of dark moments as well — especially the segment in which the protagonist is sedated into a coma in order to prevent further escape attempts. Shot and set in South Australia, the film does remain accessible throughout — albeit some of it being downright American in its elder abuse. Despite amusing monikers of “geezer comedies,” it’s a good thing that movies can accommodate plots and protagonists at all ages — and for all of its comic content, Never Too Late is clearly aiming for older audiences rather than playing up the comedy for younger viewers. It does make the viewing easy enough despite some rough patches, and does make for a fine late-career entry in Cromwell’s filmography.