The Old Guard is a superhero fantasy action movie. The movie is an original Netflix movie which made me a bit skeptical as to the quality of the movie, but it is actually a really fun movie. I liked it a lot.
The Old Guard is based on a comic book with the same name. The Old Guard comic book is published by Image Comics and written by Greg Rucka, who also wrote the script for the movie. It's hard to switch from one medium to another, but it looks like Greg Rucka pulled it off. I'm not saying that this movie is a masterpiece, but it has a solid script. I know that Charlize Theron complains about ageism in Hollywood and not getting more action roles, so she produced this movie to give herself an awesome role. Meaning she made the movie that she wants to star in. That's pretty awesome. The movie is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. Everything about this movie just works.
The movie has a very simple plot. A group of immortals, who never age and heal quickly, act as mercenaries to make the world a better place. But they must defend themselves after they are exposed by a group of crazy scientists. Along comes a new member who must adjust to this new life and find her place in this team. Very straight forward, but very fun, including a finale battle that does not disappoint.
Everyone here does a solid job when it comes to acting, but this is the Charlize Theron show. She is the lead of the movie and she carries it on her shoulders. She plays the oldest immortal, Andromache, also known as Andy. You know how you can tell someone is really old school? When they feel guns are not deadly and efficient enough, so they have their own choice of weapon. Andy has an amazing weapon and every time she uses it, you feel that they were made for each other and that a gun is really not that effective in comparison. Theron kicks so much ass in this movie that it breaks my heart to know how little she gets to do that on the big screen. She wants to and she's great at it. I would watch any movie with her on the big screen. She not only kicks ass, but she is the heart of the movie and carries the emotional weight of it as well. You only care about the other characters because she does. She does a brilliant job in this movie.
Everyone else does their best, but most of the characters have smaller roles. KiKi Layne plays Nile Freeman, the newest member of the immortals which has the second biggest role. We see the movie through her eyes and learn about the immortals through her experience of them. Matthias Schoenaerts plays Sebastian Le Livre, their second newest member. Marwan Kenzari plays Yusuf Al-Kaysani who joined with Nicolò di Genova who is played by Luca Marinelli. Chiwetel Ejiofor is as bland as he is in most movies, playing a CIA agent. Harry Melling is not surprisingly the big bad of the movie. I mean I think his role as Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter movies definitely cemented his in the public mind as an asshole and he does not disappoint. Everyone has small roles, but they mostly do a job with them.
So yeah, it's not the most amazing action movie you've ever seen, but it's pretty good. I had a good time. The characters are good, their motivations are logical. The setup is clear and explained mostly. The plot is simple, but at least this movie has a plot. And it has a plot that allows decent and fun action. I would have loved to see more action, but when this movie has fighting scenes, it is super fun and entertaining.
I had a blast watching this movie. If you're looking for a good, fun, new action movie, you should totally check it out.
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