Charlize Theron stars alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor, Marwan Kenzari, Kiki Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Luca Marinelli, Harry Melling and Veronica Ngo in The Old Guard, released on July 10th on Netflix.
A group of covert “immortal” mercenaries, led by Theron, are recruited to take on a mission of the utmost urgency, and in turn, expose their abilities to a mad scientist, played convincingly by Harry Melling, (yes, Dudley Dursley from Harry Potter…), who seeks to replicate their genetic “mutation”, and monetize it for his benefit, under the guise of solving health crisis around the world. What ensues is an action-packed, bruised, and bloody film that seems to be the current direction that Charlize has been pursuing lately. In this case, it works…
While Charlize is the “name” and the centerpoint of the poster, I personally fount Kiki Layne (If Beale Street Could Talk), the most intriguing of the characters in the story, and would fully expect her to carry any future iterations or sequels of this movie.
The Old Guard was written by Greg Rucka, who also wrote the acclaimed graphic novel series of the same name, and directed by Love & Basketball director/writer, Gina Prince-Bythewood, with production assistance by Skydance Media.
I was struggling to put my finger on the piece that bothered me about the film, until Grade A Movies reviewer, Alec Toombs, pointed out to me that it was “…the best Highlander movie, that wasn’t a Highlander movie”. He’s spot on (check out his review at their website). This didn’t keep me from enjoying the movie, though, and I would recommend it to any Netflix subscriber. Certainly worth a watch.
Available July 10th on Netflix.
Abbreviated Review Rating: 4 out of 5 ★’s
