REVIEW: The Old Guard

In a world overflowing with disaster and human atrocity, one can't help but wonder if there's enough time in one lifetime to combat all the world's calamities. That seems to be the fixation of Gina Prince-Bythewood's new action thriller, The Old Guard, which premiered on Netflix today. This film imagines a fantasy wherein a team of altruistic soldiers who cannot die dedicate their eternal existence to fighting such calamities. Neither mindless nor heartless, even in a slate of film releases not afflicted by a pandemic, this film would be a viable competitor for the honor of best action film of the year.

Actress KiKi Layne and director Gina Prince-Bythewood

The plot of the film is tightly structured with its many setups and payoffs so symphonically arranged. There are admittedly one or two sequences, like Andy's initial retrieval of Nile from her base camp, that feel a little rushed, especially in comparison to their fantastically realized encounter on the plane in the sequence after. One wonders if the film had been conceived with such sequences a little more developed only for them to be truncated in script streamlining.

The film boasts an impressive cast led by Charlize Theron and KiKi Layne, with Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Harry Melling filling out the ensemble. There isn't a weak spot among the cast, though I'll confess that for all I tried I just couldn't stop seeing Dudley Dursely anytime Melling was on screen. Schoenarts, my personal favorite of this lineup, did an especially notable job at finding subtle ways to sell his character's humanity. 

The action sequences are expertly designed, reading like deadly dances. Narrative inventions manage to assign legitimate stakes to the action, such that even a cast of immortals feels vulnerable amid the rain of bullets.

People won't be complaining about any intellectual incuriosity with this action film (at least they

shouldn't) as often happens with movies so drenched in action. There isn't a plotpoint or scene that doesn't somehow tie back to the film's thematic lifeblood: when dying is off the table, what do you do with your time? Turns out even immortals are sometimes overwhelmed by the enormity of their task. When faced with the question of the futility of their mission, Andy (Charlize Theron) disdainfully remarks "The world can burn for all I care." Even amidst the frustration of it all, the film affords these freelance fighters a measure of compassion, allowing them to reflect and lament on issues like loneliness "Just because we keep living doesn't mean we stop hurting" while letting them discover (or rediscover) the sanctuary their family unit provides them. The film doesn't return its own questions with easy answers, but you still come out believing in good deeds anyway. 

With its careful interplay of unforgiving reality with obstinate idealism, the film creates an experience that is both thrilling and life-affirming. I guess action films don't need to make their viewers reflect on human goodness, but what can you do?

   

                --The Professor