The Old Guard

This review may contain spoilers!

This film has a fantastic core concept that translates pretty well, but is upset by the pervading stoic tone of the feature. I would give The Old Guard a 6/10.

The Old Guard is about a group of immortal warriors who venture covertly around the globe seeking to save or help humanity. However, when the powers that be gain wind of these immortals a trap is set and our long-lived protagonists find themselves hunted just as they are recruiting a new member to their ranks. The concept is nothing short of highly creative and really well explored in this film; you don't rush into exposition and there is time set to learn and understand how the immortal soldiers work. In fact, some of the best elements of the film are when we flashback to the origins of the warriors, directly linking a lot of tragedy suffered to the main protagonist, Andy. I also felt the steady relationship of soldier and commander between Andy and new recruit, Nile, is fascinating. The amount these two learn from each other and grow as characters is extremely well written and enhances the third act. The action sequences for this film move quickly and there is a nice flow to the stunt work here; the cinematography often comes alive and moves in synchronicity with moments such as these. The score for the film has this ancient power to it, it has a self-reflective quality for key character moments and then segues effortlessly to this pulse-pounding pitch for combat scenes.

Kiki Layne, who played Nile, is really unique to watch in her role as the new immortal of the group; she tends towards diplomacy and finding the most effective approach to a situation which creates a nice parallel to Andy and the other immortals. Matthias Schoenaerts, who played Booker, is the more dour member of the immortal warriors; the crisis of conscience Schoenaerts presents in this film is really unique and different from your classic betrayal storyline. Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli, who played Joe and Nicky respectively, are probably one of the best romantic duos I've seen in an action film of late; Kenzari's monologue about his love for Marinelli's Nicky is one of my favourite moments in the feature. Van Veronica Ngo, who played Quynh, is a role who complements Theron's Andy nicely in the flashback scenes; Ngo has this tough exterior that matches the fierce leader and the pair present a very solid bond in all of their scenes together.

However, the best performance came from Charlize Theron, who played Andy. Theron has proved time and time again that she is more than fully competent as a leading performer, and this feature is no different. Andy is this stoic immortal warrior who wears who centuries of pain and solitude plain and openly. In fact one of the interesting aspects of this character is just how worn down she is by living and at the same time how wise and full of experience she very clearly is. Theron presents this role as having an strong sets of instincts which allows her to really creatively and effectively handle situations that come her way. Watching the bond Andy shares with the other immortals is a really fascinating dynamic too, this is a camaraderie that runs deeper than most warrior bonds in similar media. As the film progresses Theron delves deeper into this character, showing how she reacts to mortality and the determination she has to survive in order to protect her people.

The Old Guard as a core concept is executed really well but the overall film has some serious issues in regards to pacing and tone. The fact that a number of questions have an attitude that is constituted of brooding, angst or a stoic out look means that the film lacks a range of emotion. The characters all seem quite dour most of the time and the gritty nature of the piece struggles to find levity or diversity in how it presents itself. Because the film has some key character or action sequences there isn't much else to be said for what lies in between; often we get a very monotonous depressing glimpse into life as an immortal soldier or a melodramatic rant from the over the top antagonist. As a film it has my interest but the whole thing struggles to come together coherently. The camera work only ever seems to come alive when we're in the middle of an action scene, otherwise the shots don't maximise the blockbuster potential of this film. The editing is staggeringly slow for a film of this calibre, scenes don't have motion to them and tend to drag due to the slow cutting. The soundtrack for the film feels like a total wild assortment of tracks that don't really fit the tone of The Old Guard, it feels like someone's personal favourite tracks dropped randomly into the film as opposed to a well curated film soundtrack.

Chiwetel Ejiofor, who played Copley, really flounders in action blockbuster films; Ejiofor lacks subtlety and you can read this character with flip-flopping morals like an open book in every scene. Harry Melling, who played Merrick, is going to sit squarely on my list of least favourite antagonists of the year; Melling's proclamations of Big Pharma science make zero sense and his sadistic role is often melodramatic and overbearing.