The Old Guard, next to Scott Pilgrim vs the World (yeah, I am very tardy to that party), has been one of the best things that I’ve watched in 2020 so far. I was a bit concerned over the warnings on violence when the film began on Netflix, but experiencing personal violence in a different lifetime this movie was about what you could expect outcome-wise of combat with a heavy artistic flourish on how the violent acts are performed. The level of violence in this film was far less than 6 Bellow, which I just couldn’t make it through 15 minutes of… and I LOVE Ryan Reynolds. Charlize Theron is dialed up to ELEVEN in this film
Being immortal is not all it’s cracked up to be. That’s not news to me. Watching everything that you’ve grown up with whither and die, while you are forced to go on… yeah, that’s awesome. It’s difficult enough to do that now as a mortal. OK, enough of that. The film really hits the point that living forever is tough, to say the least. Sure you master some insane level of skill, but the loneliness that you are drowning in constantly is a heavy weight to bear.
The film is an interesting tale about a group of special people who help the world in ways that they never realize. A new immortal emerges, and is reluctantly recruited into this small band of warriors. Even though I couldn’t help but think about the Highlander films and TV series during some of the scenes, it still felt fresh and new on the whole. Not wanting to divulge too much, I will say that there are things that raised my anxiety a bit (all within the service of the film), and a scene where two characters express the depths of their affection for each other that I have NEVER witnessed before on screen, stage, page or life… it was movingly beautiful.
There is a sequel teased in the end stinger, and I am hoping that it turns into a series instead of a film. Until then, I may have to pick up the trade paperback of the comic book series.
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