The Old Guard: Netflix’s New Feature Film is Fresh New Take on Superheroes
Charlize Theron leads a group of immortal warriors in Prince-Bythewood’s fresh take on the superhero genre.
Watching Gina Prince-Bythewood’s new movie The Old Guard, I was immediately reminded of blockbuster Marvel and DC films but with a whole new take. Prince-Bythewood’s movie is that rather than having jaw dropping set design and banking on star power, the director and screenwriter put in the work of making you care about these characters. The action is definitely top-notch, but the film never shies away from its more gloomy and darker aspects. It makes for a tricky balancing act, but Prince-Bythewood pulls it off. It’s an efficient direction of this adaptation of an action-fantasy comic-book series by Greg Rucka serves the physical element of the performances well.
Andy (Charlize Theron) is an immortal warrior who has been fighting for millennia. She’s picked up fellow immortals Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts) and lovers Joe (Marwan Kenzari) and Nicky (Luca Marinelli) to help her in various missions. When the team gets a new gig, it turns out to be a trap by mysterious Mr. Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) at the directive of pharmaceutical company CEO Merrick (Harry Melling), who wants to exploit the immortals and sell their abilities.
The Old Guard shows how to use the formula to kickstart something better. It starts out in the same place of a bunch of mercenaries on a mission with a little superhuman ability, but because Prince-Bythewood puts her characters at the core of
the movie instead of a collection of set pieces or one-liners. Thanks to her skilled and thoughtful direction, The Old Guard feels new. Overall, there was a lot of fighting scenes and a lack of character arc for Andy. It is in the script that gets bogged down at a critical point in some distinctly murky character motivation.
But that’s just my opinion.
It’s the rare superhero movie in 2020 that can leave you wanting to see more. A fresh new take to comic book adaptation movies.
The Old Guard is now streaming on Netflix!