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 (071820)
The best thing about Netflix’s The Old Guard isn’t necessarily its action
sequences, its cast, or even its story. Its the sense of reality present in
every scene. Grounded and pragmatic, it’s a superhero film that’s decidedly
lacking in flights of fancy. For a film about immortal assassins, it’s
surprisingly but refreshingly mundane.
Said immortals are led by Andromache the Scythian (Charlize Theron), but you can
call her Andy. For centuries — or millennia in Andy’s case — this small group
has traveled the world in secret, using their unparalleled combat skills to save
and protect. When the group’s identity is discovered, Andy and her team must
evade capture by people who would exploit their abilities for profit. At the
same time, they must find and train a Marine named Nile (Kiki Layne), newly
awakened to her own immortality.
Based on the graphic novel series by Greg Rucka, who also wrote the screenplay,
The Old Guard is possibly one of the most down-to-earth superhero films in
recent memory. There are no physics-breaking displays of power, no intergalactic
conspiracies, no monstrous antagonists. We’re never even given an explanation as
to why the characters are immortal in the first place.
And that’s all a good thing. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood has crafted a film
that aims to balance intricate action set pieces with quiet character drama. We
get to see the immortals as warriors and as people both at the same time. She
leans sometimes too heavily on the drama side of things at times, and there are
stretches of the film where the drama is all there is, but between Rucka’s
assured script and Prince-Bythewood’s camera, there is a distinct humanity
running through each of the characters.
Charlize Theron is, of course, the main highlight of the film. Atomic Blonde and
Mad Max: Fury Road have already proven that Theron has the ability to anchor an
action film, and she effortlessly slip’s into Andy’s skin. The present day Andy
is jaded and cynical, no-nonsense often to the point of indifference. But
flashbacks to Andy’s past allow her to show a more passionate, emotional side of
the character. In either case, Theron is magnetic, giving Andy a unique charisma
that’s impossible to deny.
Theron handles the film’s action scenes just as well. Andy and her team fight in
a blend of styles and tactics that’s hard to quantify but fits them very well.
After all, if you’ve been fighting for hundreds of years, you’re going to pick
up tricks from all over. The choreography in these scenes is intricate and
impressive, and the line of action in them flows in a beautiful kind of chaos.
Unlike a confusing MCU quick-cut montage, the action is sometimes so fluid and
frenetic that it becomes a kind of all-encompassing and immersive blur. The
action scenes take full advantage of the film’s R rating, as well, although the
brutality never slides into grotesquery.
But Andy doesn’t do this alone. Her team are all compelling personalities in
their own right. Nile, as the newest member and audience surrogate, gets the
most screen time. Kiki Layne plays Nile as tough but vulnerable, an innocent
kind of noble warrior. Her idealism and youthful energy play well against Andy’s
world-weariness, and the two have have a great rapport that builds and evolves
organically as the film proceeds.
However, some of the film’s best chemistry exists between Joe (Marwan Kenzari)
and Nicky (Luca Marinelli), two warriors from the Crusades who met each other as
enemies and ended up falling in love. From their first scene, the bond between
the characters is clear, and they come off almost as the heart of the operation.
From a purely representational standpoint, it’s refreshing to see two gay main
characters who are also remarkably competent fighters and confident in both
themselves and their relationship. One of the film’s best scenes involves Joe
poetically describing his feelings toward Nicky when someone throws a bit of
homophobia at them.
As good as the film is, there are some pacing issues that have to be addressed.
After an action-packed opening that runs smoothly and steadily, the film’s
energy just kind of…stops for a while. It picks back up again, but there’s a
relatively sedate section in the first half where the film becomes a bit too
grounded for its own good. It happens around the same time that a feeling creeps
in that this is a kind of backdoor pilot episode for a longer series. By the end
of Act 2, the sense that this is an origin issue becomes impossible to deny.
While that might be part and parcel of the comic book film genre, the sheer
nakedness of the film’s sequel hook ending is a little disappointing.
That might not be so bad, though. The Old Guard is a remarkably solid and
entertaining superhero film, grounded and mature in the same vein as something
like
Logan.
Anchored by fully-human characters played by a talented cast, it’s an
efficient mix of action, philosophy, and emotion that makes the idea that
immortals live among us seem remarkably plausible.
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