Film Review: The Old Guard

2020 will long be remembered for (among other things, for sure) the year without the summer movie season. As most of the films that were slated to come out have been delayed, and those that did stick to their original release date went straight to homes through premium on demand services. The ones that have stuck around have largely been smaller films, ones that could afford to go to streaming without losing an absurd amount of money, while all the blockbusters have been stuck in limbo. But if you are aching for a summer action movie, then The Old Guard will definitely scratch that itch for you.

The film is based on the comic book of the same name by Greg Rucka, who also adapted it for director, Gina Prince-Bythewood. It follows a group of immortal mercenaries, Andy (Charlize Theron), Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), Joe (Marwan Kenzari), and Nicky (Luca Marinelli). For centuries they’ve been righting wrongs, but when they are exposed, they find themselves on the run as they’re being hunted by Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who is working on behalf of a big pharmaceutical mogul. At the same time, Andy takes a newly discovered recruit, Nile (KiKi Layne), under her wing.

Gina Prince-Bythewood has always been an underrated filmmaker, having made a handful of films in her career with Love & Basketball, Disappearing Acts, The Secret Life Of Bees, and Beyond The Lights, all of which range from solid to great. The Old Guard marks her first foray into big budget action filmmaking, and I’m happy to say she really delivers. It’s a slick production, and the action is very well done. Not only is choreography really dynamic, but it’s also nice to see the film not hold back on the blood and gore that would naturally result from the situations that our characters find themselves in, without being gratuitous of course.

However, what makes the film more compelling than you’d expect is the level of empathy and humanity that is behind all the characters. The film could have done fine with just being a pure adrenaline ride, but there is more thought and care put into the moments in between the action, allowing the stakes to feel more personal. The banter between everyone isn’t just empty jabs and one-liners, they allow moments that provide more insight to the characters, and Prince-Bythewood’s gentle touch makes it all that much more effective.

A huge part of that is also due to the work put in by the cast. Everyone is putting in good work here. The camaraderie between everyone is believable, and they hold themselves well in all the action sequences. Though, many of them are no stranger to action movies. It will surprise no one to say that Theron is terrific. It was especially nice to see KiKi Layne here. As an audience surrogate of sorts, she brings an emotional grounding to the proceedings, getting us to more easily connect with some of the more out-there ideas and concepts that perhaps would have been harder if we were just following all the seasoned pros.

If there are any issues I had they were fairly minor. The only one that really stands out is how the film tries to bring a relatable motivation to the villain. Copley is still haunted by the death of his loved ones, and the man he works for, Merrick (Harry Melling) believes these immortal people can help change the world for the better. However, any attempt to humanize their perspective is undone by the fact that Merrick is a total mustache-twirler who seems to revel in the torture he’s planning for our leads. It’s honestly disappointing because of how much the film dived deeper into these archetypes, and yet, couldn’t bring that same empathy to their villain, who is otherwise motivated by theoretically good intentions.

Aside from that, The Old Guard is still one hell of a good time. If you want good action, good characters, and an engaging story, this really has it all. I do wish it didn’t sequel-bait as hard as it did, not just because a sequel has yet to be green-lit by Netflix, but also because I just really, really, really want to see where that final hook takes us. I don’t know how faithful it may or may not be to the comics, but it still delivers a satisfying action movie that I think has a lot of potential as a franchise starter. I really enjoyed seeing these characters, and I want to see where they go from here, and to me, that counts as a success for a film like this.