The Old Guard follows a group of immortal mercenaries as they find themselves as the targets of a nefarious plot
Quick cut: Director Gina Prince-Bythewood uses her keen sense for character to make The Old Guard a one of a kind groundbreaking Hollywood blockbuster that feels like a new, exciting direction for the action genre.
Chloé Zhao makes Nomadland‘s melancholic but hopeful story of nomads traversing the American West a stunningly complex character study of life on the margins of society.
The Old Guard feels familiar. It follows the typical Hollywood action blockbuster formula, has the archetypes we’ve come to expect and even has a premise that isn’t completely unique. However, director Gina Prince-Bythewood—she’s best known for Love & Basketball—finds moments to give The Old Guard a completely singular flair that feels as invigorating as it is groundbreaking.
The idea of an action movie led by a group of immortals out of their time is not new. In The Old Guard, we follow Andy (Charlize Theron), a centuries-old warrior who uses her endless amount of time to help people. However, it’s the team around her—also consisting of immortals she’s found—that gives the movie its much-needed lift. There’s alcoholic Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), new recruit Nile (If Beale Street Could Talk‘s Kiki Layne), and, most importantly, gay couple Joe (Marwan Kenzari) and Nicky (Luca Marinelli).
Each character, some centuries years old and aware of the labors and joys of their immortality and some newly struggling with it, is finely carved out to have a past that informs their present motivations. They’re the definitions of lived-in.
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In particular, it’s Nicky and Joe’s story that feels most impactful. Despite the uniqueness as a gay couple in a major action blockbuster, Prince-Bythewood treats them with normalcy, which adds to their impact. Though it isn’t specifically hinted at in the script, their centuries-long love story has importance in their part of the narrative. Their love today adds to the stakes and our attachment to the characters. It’s through their adversity that we also find their moral drive.
The movie begins with “the old guard,” Andy, Booker, Joe and Nicky, receiving a rescue assignment from James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor). That assignment turns out to be a setup to prove the group’s immortality so that pharmacy giant CEO Steven Merrick (Harry Melling) could target the group to study. However, after being killed in a gruesome ambush, the guard resurrects and proceeds to destroy the assailants with ease. Their time-forged skill, especially Andy’s with an ancient axe, is apparent.
Discovering that Copley has crossed them, the guard sets off to find Nile, the first addition to the guard in centuries, and stop Merrick. And while the premise seems like it begs for endless action, The Old Guard instead is more interested in character moments. Moments that eventually make those action scenes more impactful.
That’s not to say that the action isn’t polished, enthralling, and punishing. Though Prince-Blyethwood hasn’t tackled an action movie, it’s clear she has a handle of capturing and communicating combat. If anything, her penchant for strong character work makes her more successful in creating action scenes that are narratively and emotionally important.
It’s difficult in a high-concept fantasy like this to feel like you have the agency to pause and explore the adversity that Nicky and Joe faced or the losses that Booker and Andy had to endure. However, it’s that attachment to the characters that makes the physical pain they go through on their mission hard to stomach. The added rule that any of the immortals can find that they will not resurrect again heightens the stakes.
The Old Guard *is* a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster, even if it was released directly on Netflix without a theatrical release. However, it’s a big-budget Hollywood blockbuster that’s unafraid to play within the formula given to it. Yes, one of its largest assets is putting a gay couple unabashedly at the center—and without feeling self-congratulatory—however, it does so with every character. It unabashedly explores their inner workings, which just makes their physical feats of action even more delicious to watch. To say I’m obsessed may be an understatement.
The Old Guard is now streaming on Netflix.
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Hey! I’m Karl. You can find me on Twitter here. I’m also a Tomatometer-approved critic.
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Hey, I'm Karl, founder and film critic at Smash Cut. I started Smash Cut in 2014 to share my love of movies and give a perspective I haven't yet seen represented. I'm also an editor at The New York Times, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and a member of the Online Film Critics Society.
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