ST. LOUIS — Imagine being an immortal warrior who operates on a black ops-type team of similarly unkillable souls for centuries, righting the wrongs of the world and ensuring certain people stay alive just long enough to do something vital for the future of the planet.
Welcome to "The Old Guard," a thrilling brand new Netflix Original film that operates on its own code of ethics, as in delivering the goods while establishing character development and making sure the action has a purpose. Every action sequence in this film has reason behind it, a direction for the story to follow. That's the sign of a truly great adventure film. Make it all count.
Charlize Theron is arguably the most versatile actress on the planet. Question: Do you think Meryl Streep could play a super soldier named Andy who takes 20 bullets and collapses before getting up and wielding a sword and various parts of her body at a bad guy? I don't think so. Theron is in her comfort zone here, a place she forged with impeccable performances in "Atomic Blonde" and "Mad Max: Fury Road." There isn't a false note in any of her steps here as a woman who is tired of dying only to find out she will live again. Theron can do a lot with a little, flashing a look here or just using the dialogue to strengthen her entire performance.
When Andy recruits a new young warrior, Nile (Kiki Layne), into the group and finds out someone is after her teammates' abilities, a whole new fight develops for the team. A team with the most eclectic and multi-dimensional souls in any recent science fiction tale or straight action film. You have Matthias Schoenaerts (a truly gifted actor who can make a sentence seem like a speech) playing Booker, Andy's right hand man and most trusted soldier. And then you have Joe (Marwan Kenzari) and Nicky (Luca Marinelli), a couple of lovers who form the most adorable relationship on film. You do that by taking considerable time to show us who these people are instead of carving them out and filing them into "types."
Joe and Nicky are the kind of couple who bicker even when they are strapped into stretchers in a lab being tortured and tested on endlessly. Andy and Booker are old lions trying to figure out where the end of the game is, hating just about every moment before that happens. Nile's arrival changes things for the group, and that doesn't include dealing with an old friend (Chiwetel Ejiofor).
The action in this film is first rate. The fight scenes are frequent, but the choreography exists in the John Wick school of attention to detail. Punches and kicks are thrown with ferocity, but the damage isn't just taken for granted. These heroes may heal quickly, but they feel all the pain of a shotgun blast going through their abdomen. As Booker tells Nile, "it's okay, these bigger ones take longer."
The special effects are top notch and the soundtrack is retro and well-fitted for this punk rock anthem of a film. Here, the ladies are the sinister kids, leading the men into the last fight of their current lives. Theron and Layne form a good camaraderie, ebbing and flowing like an aged killer and young apprentice should. Just enough trust and not too much warmth.
Thankfully, this is Andy's story and no one else's, because her character is the strongest and most developed. You find out more about her as the film goes along with its actually breezy 124 minutes. The editing and pacing here is just right. It's either exposition on the who and how of the warrior's abilities, character development within the group, or a drop-dead, all out battle. It's a solid mix going on here.
Director Gina Prince-Bythewood fuels the film and its experience with the precious details that make films in this genre run fast and for a long time. This is a big leap from her debut 20 years ago, "Love and Basketball," which only shows you how much she still has in store. Like Cathy Wan did with this year's "Birds of Prey," Prince-Bythewood gathers her ladies and gives them the best environment to shine in.
The key ingredient, besides Theron, is the script. Greg Rucka wrote the graphic novel that the film is based on, and he handles the screenplay here. This means someone else didn't get to come in and mess around with his characters and stories. Rucka has admitted things change from a comic book into a film, but the heart and soul of this tale is intact due to his involvement here.
It's not all perfect. When we start to find out how the group stays alive and the ancient history behind it, the film does stretch too far and loses some interest. Some of the dramatic beats don't land properly. The action is so good that you crave more of it, so when the expected subplot of a mad scientist wanting to test and steal their powers comes along, there is a slight shrug. An expected plot twist that you accept but aren't exactly pleased with.
But the reasons for their abilities are never truly spelled out and that helps convey the much-needed mystery of the team. Great movies don't give all the answers, just enough to keep you plugged in to the story and caring for the well being of the characters.
Trust me. The juice on this steak is seeing Andy, Booker, and Nile recover from their wounds with quirky one liners and full-blown contempt for anything bad in their way. The end of the film has a true "Matrix" feel, but in this particular tale, the lady is the front-runner.
Without beating us over the head with its morals or boring us with countless expositions, "The Old Guard" delivers the entertainment goods while supplying some much-needed depth to its players. This is the rare superhero film where the characters are developed and the action means something.
In just under 10 hours, your Netflix queue should be set to "The Old Guard." Whatever kills you makes you stronger in this world, especially if Charlize Theron is leading the charge.
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