The Old Guard

When the comic book movie genre comes to mind, for the most part audiences have commonly associated it with either a variety of DC and Marvel popular mainstream adaptations from the past/present that have dominated history (like the MCU, Dark Knight Trilogy, Tim Burton Batman, DCEU, etc). However, there tends to be outliers with their own sense of style, narratives, and various levels of violence to stand out from the crowd. There are some obvious examples such as Kick-Ass (2010) and Watchmen (2009). Meanwhile there are a number of them audiences may not realized are actually based on a comic book series such as 300 (2007) and Sin City (2005). This brings us to a new entry to join this kind of group, The Old Guard, which was produced on a fairly low budget for the genre movie and was released on Netflix this past summer. It's based on the comic book series of the same name and was written by Greg Rucka (author of that source material). Much like most films in this year so far, I have been avoiding the trailers to be as blind as possible (hoping to not have any action highlights or plot points ruined) and the only thing that I knew was Charlize Theron was the lead. Knowing the latter was great to hear since the actress has been leaning into more action in the 2010s (Mad Max: Fury Road and Atomic Blonde come to mind). After watching it on Netflix recently, I was surprised by how much I liked the intrigue presented here in this pleasant viewing experience. 

What's it about? The story follows a group of immortal warriors whose private secrecy is compromised when they come across a newly established member who shares their power. This type of story following a skilled individual with a healing factor has been done in the past with Logan (2017) that doesn't directly state the cons of has that ability but the implications of the mental state is heavily shown. That's no different except with more than 2 people having it and having to learn about their viewpoints on the world based on their long lifetime experiences. Having someone new interact with these more experience fighters brings something fresh to the table for hopeful encouragement for them while bringing her up to speed on the situation. The intrigue surrounding the conditions of the abilities and the fair amount of time each of the heroes is given does make for a fascinating experience. There is a sequel bait implemented but the seed for it is established with a good minute or 2 of simple exposition needed for it that feel appropriate)

However, there is a noticeable blemish or two that holds back the film from being great. The villain arc, while written competently in terms of the scheme, lacks any personality or menace from the antagonist himself. There isn't anything about them to drive tension and interrupts the momentum. There are rushed and predicable moments in the third act of the plot that are common for the genre.

How's the action? The action isn't anything special like Atomic Blonde or John Wick with how they handle gun fights or brawls with melee weapons but they are competently handled. The healing factor of the heroes does alleviate some tension with such as their recovery from huge wounds or head shots. However, the rules behind that ability does create more tension later on that feels welcome for these ancient fighters. The best of these sequences would be hand to hand brawl on an airplane between 2 of the heroes. One complaint about this area would be holding back on an unseen action bit where it shows the gay couple of the group in a truck full of troops and the aftermath of it (maybe it wasn't in the budget or hard to film). 

How are the actors? In regards to story importance, the actors to focus on are Charlize Theron, Kiki Layne. Charlize gives a performance that does good in balancing the charisma and emotional vulnerability that's been critical on humanity. It's great for this actress to take on this leader role that doesn't consume a lot of screen time away from the team members. Kiki showcases an improved performance from her role in If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) and does a nice job holding her own sharing the screen with more experienced actors here. Honorable mentions go to Marwan Kanzari and Luca Marinelli for the great chemistry between these actors (plus the much improved performance from the former following his bad stint as Jafar in Aladdin (2019). Dishonorable mention goes Harry Melling for being given bland dialogue for a forgettable villain role.

 

Overall Consensus: The Old Guard provides an intriguing premise for its genre in an experience that's bolstered by good lead performances, competent action, and fleshing out main heroes, though stumbles with its villain and predicable cliches. ⭑⭑⭑⭑ Runtime: 2 hours 5 minutes R

 

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or director Gina Prince-Blythewood. You like see Charlize in fight scenes. You don't mind predictable cliches. The premise of being immortal via a healing power intrigues you. You have read the source material and want to see how it's adapted. 

 

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or director Gina Prince-Blythewood. You dislike predictable cliches. The premise of being immortal via a healing power doesn't intrigue you. You have read the source material but don't want to see how it's adapted.