As we all are very well aware, 2020 has been a dumpster fire, especially if you live in the United States. There’s been massive cancellations of big name projects and conventions, the closure of Disneyland until at least next month, the delays of some of the most talked about games of 2020… It’s been a mess.
And then July 9th rolled around. I was on Tumblr, and I started to see posts from a Netflix movie. Now, I wasn’t really in the mood to watch anything, so I put it out of my mind. I have the Reading Rush to think about, along with finishing my Lego Challenge. Some random little movie wasn’t in my wheelhouse. It would fade into obscurity like most Netflix films did.
But it didn’t.
For nearly three weeks, I kept on seeing more and more posts for this film. I saw it being mentioned on Youtube. It just didn’t go away. But I still resisted. I did not have the patience for an action flick. Especially one on a Netflix budget.
Then I saw the van scene.
Yes. That scene.
It was July 28th. Just three weeks from the film’s debut. I saw that damn scene and said, “Okay, I’ll give it a shot.”
Guys. Guys. I’ve now watched The Old Guard at least 25 times. It hasn’t even been out three months.
Let me explain the premise. Andromache of Scythia, known now as Andy (played by Charlize Theron with a fucking battle ax) leads a group of immortal warriors. They work together as modern day guns-for-hire. The rest of the group consist of Yusuf “Joe” Al-Kaysani (Marwan Kenzari, who was fresh off the role of Jafar in Disney’s Aladdin), Nicolo “Nicky” di Genova (Luca Marinelli, an Italian actor known in the US for portraying Primo in FX’s Trust), and Sebastian “Booker” Le Livre (Matthias Schoenaerts, with acting credits across like four countries). After being ambushed and killed on a job, they go to ground to figure out a way to get back at the man who double crossed them: James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor, who stole his scenes I swear to God). But everything backfires when a new immortal is born in the form of US Marine Nile Freeman (Kiki Layne in an outstanding performance for the young actress).
Of course, that’s just the first… 25 minutes or so? There’s so much more, most of which I don’t really want to reveal if you haven’t seen the film yet. I will drop this little hint. Harry Melling, yes Dudley Dursley, is in this film, and his role breaks what was left of the mold that series left him in.
Let’s Break It Down
So. The Old Guard is based off a five issue comic of the same name, though with some differences. The film takes the material from the comic and just makes it better, while removing some of the more… problematic issues the comic had (mostly the art). This was done in an amazing fashion by the comic and screenplay writer, Greg Rucka.
The actors play off of each other as if they had been acting together for years. They truly embraced the feeling of “found family” throughout several scenes. Each character has their own mini-arc, one that you don’t really realize until you’ve had multiple viewings. From Nile having to deal with being MIA and also immortal, to the near millennia-length romance of Joe and Nicky, each character gets a chance to shine. The amount of training they went through to portray these ancient warriors was impressive, especially if you watch some of the extra videos Netflix released around the film’s release.
But I need to highlight Nicky and Joe. They met in the Crusades. Rather, they killed each other in the Crusades. Nicky was a former priest turned Crusader. Joe was a merchant turned warrior. They killed each other. Many times. Though the film doesn’t show any flashbacks to these scenes, they are alluded to, and the comics go into more detail. But. They stopped killing one another. They grew closer. They fell so damn hard in love. Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli sold every scene they shared (which was most of them, honestly). I could take an entire TV series just of their lives, before Andy and Booker, and no one would mind. We’d just want more.
Stepping away from waxing poetry on these amazing actors (I can go DAYS), the film from a technical standpoint is right up there with some of the bigger Netflix films. Helmed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, the film is a massive undertaking, what with it’s tight schedule they had to film under. (One scene, the “Kill Floor”, was shot in three days. Most big budget films would have taken a week at least.)
I will say that one thing that has caused issue with the film is the soundtrack. It seems either hit or miss depending on who watches it. For example, I loved every second of it, and downloaded the complete soundtrack within 24 hours of first watching the film. Others say several songs take away from the film in a bad way. While this is a cause of mild discourse, it is shocking that this would be one of the few detractors from the film in the eyes of fans.
Let’s Go Forward
So, the film’s a damn success. It broke into Netflix’s top ten for at least a week. It’s very well watched, one of the most popular films during quarantine. Heck, it’s been nominated for four People’s Choice Awards!
What’s next? We don’t know.
At this point, the fans are ravenous. Tumblr has awakened with gif set upon gif set from the film. We’re micro-analyzing scenes. (Yes, Joe had his legs tangled with Nicky in the bedroom/nightmare scene for 1.5 seconds. Yes, we counted.) Debating character choices line by line. Comparing scenes to the comics.
But. We still don’t have a confirmed sequel.
It’s almost baffling. The film is an obvious high point this summer. The fan want it. The cast keeps hinting at it. The director and writer want a shot at it. Hell, there’s even a sequel hook that needs to be resolved please and thank you!
Unfortunately, there’s a slight problem. It’s call the current world situation. Projects with confirmed sequels are getting canceled instead of confirmed. Netflix has canceled a few themselves just the other day.
Will there be a sequel to this amazing film? It’s up in the air. But there is certainly a call for it. We just have to wait and see.
In Conclusion…
Watch The Old Guard. If this crazed write up didn’t do it, let me quote Marwan. “Who doesn’t want to see Charlize Theron with an ax?”
Until next time!
