THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, the superhero genre refuses to die as Netflix provides another gem that is The Old Guard.
PLOT
Based on the comic by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez, the film follows immortals led by Andromache of Scythia. Her group includes three men: Booker, Joe and Nicky. All four are recruited by former CIA operative Copley to rescue abducted children in South Sudan. They are ambushed by mercenaries, but they beat them easily after recovering from their wounds because of their ability to regenerate/heal. They then plan to go after Copley after being set up by him. During this adventure, they dream of another one of them named Nile Freeman, who’s recently discovered her immortality. Andy tracks her down before the military considered testing on her. They regroup with the others at France. They explain to Nile that immortality doesn’t last forever because there will be a point where the healing will stop, there is just no idea when. They also talk about Andy’s first comrade Quynh (Van Veronica Ngo). They were very close but were separated when Quynh was cast into sea, trapped in an Iron Maiden, drowning for decades. After that conversation concluded, the group are ambushed again but this time, Nicky and Joe are taken. As that had transpired, Booker discovers that Andy isn’t healing, meaning that this could be her last life to live. Nicky and Joe are taken to pharmaceutical executive Steven Merrick who plans to torture them indefinitely, to study them. Nile tends to go back to her family but before she goes, she realizes that Booker sold them out. When Andy finds Copley, Booker shoots her, making her another lab rat for Merrick, because he hopes end his own immortality. When Nile finds Copley, he explains how only after his wife’s passing, that he had been able to discover that Andy has been around longer than they think, being a savior to those who have become historical figures. With his aid, she is able to find the group and rescue them. They find Merrick and Nile kills him by tackling him through the window. As punishment, the group decides to exile Booker for 100 years. While the group makes a new honest alliance with Copley to do more suitable missions, the film ends with Booker meeting Quynh in Paris, six months after his exile.
THOUGHTS
Seeing this film in 2020 was a fun viewing. It doesn’t have high stakes like the MCU tends to do most of the time, which makes this film bring some kind of fresh air. This was a step back that paid off in my eyes. I never read nor have I known any comics of this story before seeing this movie, which also helped making the movie feel unpredictable in my perspective. Gina Prince-Bythewood steps out of the romance genre and gives us a creative, standard action movie. The lore is interesting and suspenseful as no immortal can guarantee when they’ll lose their immortality. Because this is a superhero/action movie, expect some solid fight scenes that will keep your eyes glued. I enjoyed opening fight the most because it was a clever way to introduce us on how cool things were gonna get. This is another hit from Netflix and while I praise the creativity, I admit there were a few flaws in the story. First off, it does become a clever surprise how Booker was involved with Copley but how did the group not think about the possibility that Booker had something to do with the setup? They go out of their way to stay off radar so I feel they should’ve interrogated him about it a little more. I like Chiwetel Ejiofor as an actor, but his character Copley confuses me. He says he started researching the immortals after his wife died. People deal with grief differently but how does that trigger him to look into such specific research? That is one weird way to cope. Although while Merrick would’ve not known Copley was gonna betray him but since he didn’t he need him, he should’ve killed him anyway. And lastly I like that Nile wants to see her family before they end up dying of old age, but she went AWOL when Andy found her. Which means her chances of bonding with them is slim. I think once you ignore these flaws, this film is still pretty good to watch. As I return to the goods, we may not immediately connect with these characters, but they find a way to make us root for them as we see that they’ve been through hell together, which is also in part to a good cast. Charlize Theron is just meant to be an action star due to the success of other action films prior. Her role as Andy is no exception as she quickly becomes intimidating based on her actions yet sympathetic when it came to her origin that involved Quynh. With her past explained, we instinctively hope that one day she’d find peace with herself, part of the sympathy we embrace. She is the best of her team due to being the most selfless and strong willed. She may have been nervous when discovering she is on her last life, but she chose to hide it from her group at the time because this was her problem and didn't want them to worry. Whatever her journey leads, there is a chance she'll try to cherish her life as long as she can. Kiki Layne was great as well as Nile. Because of her youth, she is the most good hearted to the point that she would actions she'd consider unnecessary. She chose to forgive Booker because her compassion is still there. She may have not asked for this ability but based on this experience, she will remain as fierce as she was in the battlefield and be a determined protector as her new mentor. Speaking of Booker, Matthias Schoenaerts gives an interesting performance as the said character. We shouldn’t root for him due to his betrayal but we get his motive of not wanting to live anymore, as he’s tired of dying so many times. The return of Quynh was a clever reveal and a great build up to a potential sequel, making me really curious of how things will go between both of them. Luca Marinelli and Marwan Kenzari have great chemistry to make Nicky and Joe a badass couple in this movie. Joe's speech on how much he loves Nicky was beyond moving. Lastly, I thought Harry Melling was an interesting choice to make Steve Merrick a cunning villain and he surprisingly pulled it off in his given time.I know he has an attitude in resemblance to Dudley from Harry Potter, but I think it worked here. In short, The Old Guard is an interesting action film that does its best to distance itself from comic book tropes. If you have Netflix and love Charlize Theron, see this one when you can.
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