The Old Guard (2020) Review

"The world can burn for all I care."
-Andy



Andy, aka Andromache of Scythia (Charlize Theron), is the leader of a group of immortal mercenaries who are trying to make the world a better place.  When a mission goes wrong, the team finds themselves being hunted and they also discover the existence of another immortal.


What Works:

The best part about The Old Guard is the characters.  I really like Andy's team.  They each have a unique and interesting perspective thanks to all of the centuries they have survived.  I really hope this movie gets a sequel so we can see more of these characters.  They are better than the story they are in.  

The acting is also really solid from the team.  Theron and Matthias Schoenaerts play very jaded and sad characters, while Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli are funny and romantic.  All four of them do a very good job in their roles and I liked watching them interact.

There are some solid actions sequences as well with a few memorable and violent kills.  If you can't throw in a few over-the-top violent murders, why even make a movie? 

Finally, the character of Quynh (Van Veronica Ngo) is a minor immortal in the film, only appearing in a few scenes.  There is one in particular the is absolutely horrifying and creates some real stakes for the film.  It's sickening to watch, but really well done.


What Sucks:

The script is probably the weakest part of the film.  It holds the audience's hand a lot with too much unnecessary and clunky dialogue and a lot of exposition.  The movie likes to explain things that don't really need to be explained, which makes the film a tad too long.

The music is also jarring.  Instead of a memorable score, they just plop in dramatic pop music.  It doesn't fit with the rest of the movie at all and really pulled me out of the story.  Maybe if they had used the instrumental versions, it would have worked, but the song lyrics during the action sequences didn't work for me.

Finally, the overall story is pretty generic and predictable.  I saw all of the twists coming and was never surprised once.  The characters kept me engaged here, not the plot.  I feel like I've seen this story done before a million times...because I have.


Verdict:

"The Old Guard" has some solid performances, interesting characters, and exciting action sequences, but the music, script, and overall story keep this movie from being better.  I would like to see a sequel though.  There is a lot of potential there.

 6/10: Okay 

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