The Old Guard

The Old Guard (5/10)

Genre: Action

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood

Cast: Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Luca Marinelli, Marwan Kenzari, Chiwetel Ejiofor

Country: USA

Language: English

Year: 2020

The Old Guard made me realize - I'm immortal too; it bored me to death many times. Jokes apart, the film is utter bafflement (no disrespect to those who love it). I was so anxiously waiting for it ever since I saw the trailer, but the final emanation is way below my expectations. It is not a bad film, neither a good one, it is nothing but a hyped marketing commodity presented by Hollywood. 

I'm sure the graphic novel by Greg Rucka must be affluent in its source material, which transpired into a motion picture, but the screenplay is terrible, written by Rucka, himself. The backstories inserted in the narrative disrupts the flow at periodic intervals, has more holes than a sinking ship. The twist at the end is pretty evident, and the direction doesn't help much either. The first act is pretty solid, whereas the third and final act is below par. 

The action scenes use a lot of shaky cams and fast-cuts, something I hate - still, the action is good enough to get you through the film. Charlize Theron plays a goddess, more like a sex-goddess, and she is the only reason to watch this movie - not for her acting, but she is hot as hell worth watching! The story is about a bunch of immortal warriors fighting evil for centuries until they are betrayed and also discover a new warrior in their quest for revenge. 

Gina Prince-Bythewood has not much experience in the action-comic book genre, which reflects in her direction. Not even for a moment, the film holds a grip through her mediocre directorial skills. The acting is average, despite an immensely talented cast apart from Theron such as - Luca Marinelli, Marwan Kenzari, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Matthias Schoenaerts. KiKi Layne is one of the weakest links in the film, along with Harry Melling, who plays an oxy-moron antagonist. As you would expect, once again, they keep the role of talented martial artist and actress Van Veronica Ngo to a minimum. The cinematography is not bad either. 

The Old Guard is old wine in a new bottle with Charlize Theron's face as the packaging logo. Unfortunately, it doesn't taste too well - at least to me.