Charlize Theron starrer “The Old Guard” that released on July 10 is right now the most watched movie on Netflix. Reading the description, it felt like the film was going to be along the lines of the Milla Jovovich-starrer “Resident Evil” film series (2002-2017). But would it be in the same league? The Old Guard definitely gets close to the iconic Resident Evil series but we fear it might not create enough momentum to be made into a long-running franchise. The movie does hint at a sequel though, and we think a sequel is in order to right the little wrongs in the first edition.
To save the world from disasters, Andromache/“Andy” (Theron) leads a covert group of mercenaries to fight wars. They have been doing so for centuries, because of their inability to die. They get cut, they bleed, they break bones, but they do not die because of their regenerative healing capacities. With centuries of fighting experience all over the world, the team of four immortals has become expert in gunfight and hand-to-hand combat.
They are hidden from the world until James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a former CIA operative, hires them to rescue a group of children in South Sudan. But what starts as a rescue mission ends in the team realizing that it has been ambushed and its cover blown by Copley.
Copley in turn is working for Steven Merrick (Harry Melling) who wants to capture them and research them to discover the secret to their immortality and then monetize it. The Old Guard team also finds a Nile (Kiki Layne), an American marine who has just discovered she’s an immortal and has had a hard time accepting the truth and letting go of her past.
The fight for survival between the team and Merrick makes for the rest of The Old Guard story. With the team’s experience and abilities against Merrick’s money and cunningness, the battle is an interesting one for the audience to follow. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, the action fantasy film is a package of drama, adventure, suspense, and adrenaline rush.
The lead actors have definitely worked hard on the stunts and fights, and the effect shows. These fights are a mix of various forms of martial including a close-range gun shooting style seen in the “John Wick” (2014) film series. But despite earnest effort of the actors and the stunt team, the camerawork feels lazy, out-of-date, and uncreative. Too many shaky handheld shots and wide long shots in action sequences somewhat takes the life out of an intense hand-to-hand combat.
Wielding a Medieval-axe in combat situations, Theron—who was nothing short of exceptional in the action thrillers “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) and “Atomic Blonde” (2017)—continues her action-star legacy in The Old Guard. As the leader of a pack of immortal warriors, Theron’s Milla is commanding, resolute, and mystical.
Besides Milla, who’s the ‘boss’ of the Guard team and also the oldest immortal alive, the film also tries to give backstories of her gang of immortals. The multiple backstories result in the film crossing two hours in length, without contributing much to the storyline. Some backstories seem incomplete, badly written, and redundant.
If the movie had been written into a full series, the backstories would perhaps have been justified. Justice would have been served even if the screenplay was crisp and to-the-point.
Who should watch it?
Despite a few shortcomings that prevent The Old Guard from being another most-watched franchise, it is thoroughly enjoyable. The stretched screenplay does not get boring because of brilliant acting and background score that keeps up the momentum. For an action movie fan, The Old Guard is still a must-watch. Even those with a weak stomach for action movies can definitely squirm through this one, which is not as gory as most other movies with similar storylines.
Rating: 3.4 stars
Genre: Action/fantasy
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Actors: Charlize Theron, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kiki Layne
Run time: 2hrs 5mins
