Quick note: for some reason this didn’t post yesterday, though it was scheduled to do so. My apologies for any confusion.
A year ago today, what has become on of my favorite films released onto Netflix with not that much fanfare. I certainly didn’t hear about it, and at the time I was watching films in all of the genres that The Old Guard was sectioned into. (I watched it like two weeks later thanks to Tumblr.)
I had been planning to do a rewatch and livetweet it, but today has been a pretty exhausting day (moving beds around, it’s a thing). So instead, I want to talk about it more generally.
Over on Twitter, TOGTakeover has been an event started by nicelytousled on Tumblr. Every day they have posted a prompt or question to the fans, who all answered in such spectacular fashion. I wanted to go ahead and go through some of my answers here, and also expand on them.
Day One: Favorite Character. So like many answers, this one was hard to answer because truthfully, I love them all in different ways. But for this I went with the complex, complicated character brought to life magnificently by Matthias Schoenaerts. Booker stole most of the scenes he was in (the others were taking by KiKi Layne). I love characters that make mistakes and have to atone for their actions. And Schoenaerts brought all sorts of emotion to the role, in a way that the comic just didn’t really do. At least in my opinion.
Day Two: Favorite Action Scene. I was late to answering this, so I had a snarky response. “Since answering ‘the whole damn movie gave me the sequel please’ wouldn’t be in the best taste…” Anyway, I went with the plane fight. There’s something about Nile’s raw anger and emotion verses Andy’s sarcastic smile that just does it for me every time. And I have to give the fight team and cinematographer credit. It really looks like they are making full contact, even though we all know they aren’t. Props to them.
Day Three: Favorite Relationship. I absolutely copped out on this one. Because my feed on Twitter was filled with posts about the two obvious relationships (Joe and Nicky’s romance of the ages and Andy and Quynh’s tortured romance), I decided to focus on a relationship that was a bit broader. I focused on the found family aspect of the film. Even though the team is broken several times (Lycon succumbing to his wounds in front of Andy and Quynh, Quynh being dragged away from Andy (and Joe and Nicky, though they weren’t with the two women at the time), Booker’s actions splitting the team, and then the team leaving Booker at the end of the film), there is very much a sense of family. Andy is the eldest sister, Joe and Nicky the older brothers (… don’t think too much into this metaphor, just go with it), Booker the younger brother, and Nile the new sister just finding her footing. It works for me.
(Also, like less than an hour after I posted that, we got the news from Charlize Theron about the sequel, so you can imagine how the event changed.)
Day Four: Favorite Domestic Scene. There aren’t really too many “domestic” scenes in the film, if you really think about it. At least not with more than two members present. But I absolutely have to go with the Marrakech meeting scene. The family is together, baklava is gambled on and Booker takes Nicky’s money, and of course plans are made. There’s such a good atmosphere in this scene that it really sets the tone for the entire film.
Day Five: Favorite Antagonist. I just couldn’t decide on who I wanted to focus on for this day. A lot of people used it to attack Booker, which, okay, fair. But I really detest the true villains in this one. So instead, I went for James Copley, the other turncoat in the film. If you really think about it, did he at least have good reason to do what he did? Okay, probably not. But his heart was in the right place.
Day Six: Favorite Quote. This film is beyond quotable, but one quote still stands out to me, so much so I want to hang it on my wall. “Just because we keep living, doesn’t mean we stop hurting.” Booker’s pain comes through so much during the campfire cave scene, and this quote is absolutely in my mind when I think about the film. It’s absolutely true in so many ways.
Day Seven: Favorite Outfit. Okay, look. Nile has the best wardrobe in the entire film, full stop. From her plane outfit, to that amazing green and white bomber jacket during the rescue, to her pub outfit. I want to shake her stylist’s hand please.
Day Eight: Favorite Moment from the Comics. Am I fully prepared to get yelled at for saying that I’m not a fan of the comics? Yes, yes I am. I just cannot take the art style of the main series. However… the first issue of the prequel/anthology comic Tales Through Time has a scene where Nicky and Joe dance in a park, and it’s just wonderful.
Day Nine: Favorite Cast Member. This is one of those questions where there is no wrong answer. The whole cast if perfect and priceless and wonderful and I cannot wait to see them again.
The true answer is that I would sell my soul to meet Matthias Schoenaerts. Fight me.
Day Ten: Favorite Song From the Soundtrack. So, I do this thing where when I wake up, I mess with this “daily playlist”. It usually just has ten songs on it, but I listen to it when I’m driving (if not listening to a podcast or the rare audiobook), when I’m in the shower, or when I’m trying to write. The Old Guard soundtrack has made almost permanent status on that list. The song on there the longest (because I checked)? “The World We Made” by Ruelle. It’s from the church fight, and it’s fire.
Bonus Question: Song to be Included in the Sequel? I don’t have a specific song that should be included. What I would love is to have songs that feature artists from whatever countries end up being in the film. It would put another “multicultural” spin on the series, which can only be made better at this point.
Day Eleven: Favorite Headcanon. So I had two for this prompt, but I only posted one because I honestly didn’t want to deal with some of the anti!Booker squad. Yes, they exist, and they annoy me.
The first headcanon is the one I posted. I think they collect degrees a la The Cullens. Between all of them, they have received a degree in pretty much every subject. At one of their more isolated and secure safehouses, they have every degree sorted by year and earner. They’ve also made a game out of it. If someone within a hundred years gets a duplicate degree to someone else, they have to by the alcohol for the original earner for a decade. Joe and Nicky do it all the time just to annoy Booker.
The second headcanon is something I’ve really thought about, and I even used it as a throwaway line in “The Genius Immortal”. Joe and Nicky weren’t angry at Booker for betraying them and letting them get captured. That was just annoying. No, they were more pissed because Andy lost her immortality, and they took out that anger on him. Once they completely cool down and whatever, he’ll be back with the team before the end of five years, give or take a month.
Day Twelve: One Thing You Want to See in a the Sequel. (The question was adjusted due to the sequel being officially announced by Charlize) For this one, I decided to ignore the “one thing” and run with it. So my original answer was, and I quote, “Booker Redemption. Family Feels. Nile finding her place in the team. More of the Immortal Husbands, and damnit give us that Andy/Quynh kiss. (And Joe’s shorts. I beg you.)” I’m not picky. Not at all.
Day Thirteen: What the Movie Means to You. I was brief on twitter, so here is where I’m going to expand my answer.
When I found The Old Guard in July, I wasn’t in the best place. I was depressed. I’d been out of work since April, thanks to their lackluster response to the pandemic. I was playing Lego games to try to stay sane, but that was honestly stressing me out. And I was coming off the disaster that was The Reading Rush (which was completely canceled this year, for obvious reasons). I was a mess.
I happened to go onto Tumblr, and I saw that some of my mutuals were posting about this Netflix film with good LGBT+ representation. And I was intrigued, you know? But I honestly didn’t put too much stock it what Tumblr said, because their suggestions had always been hit or miss with me. But after a few days and seeing that more mutuals were also loving the film, I took a chance. I turned it on. Two hours later I was a changed woman.
The community can be toxic sometimes. The battle lines can be drawn and redrawn a hundred different ways. But there’s something about this movie. I always see something different every time I watch it. Maybe a line hits differently, or I notice a slight gesture that I hadn’t seen before. There is always something.
This film changed my life. That’s why I can’t shut up about it.
Until next time!
(As a quick aside, it’s really surprising to see that Netflix and Skydance failed to even mention the film today, even though they have done so for other properties on their debut anniversaries. The fans are not exactly having it tonight.)
