Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

The Old Guard

This film is an imaginative and bloody fun time! Now I went into this film very blindly as I wanted to be surprised of what this film had in store if I went in not knowing a thing. I am glad I went in not knowing anything because this film is fantastic and has a perfect balance of top notch action sequences and also has fantastic  dramatic character moments in the film as well. This is a high energy film with an incredibly compelling premise that keeps you hooked onto every frame of this film as it’s lead by an emotionally powerhouse performance by Charlize Theron. 

Firstly, This film is so well layered in its premise and I love it. Instead of this being another straight forward Sci-fi action flick it actually delves incredibly deep into its concept that the audience is introduced to in the beginning. The characters we follow are immortal and if they get wounded or hit they recover and so we learn the science behind it and how it operates and works. And theirs such rich detail to how it’s explained and shown of the process of their immortality. The film delves into the backstory of each character and how they came about their immortality as well as the great benefits they have got from it but also the downside of living forever and that’s another thing this film shows as it yes shows the rich detail of how they have lived for a very long time. The film also tackles a lot of heavy topics such as if you could live forever would you and at what price? As well they ask the question if you lived forever would it be worth it because you would see all your loved ones die. Theirs a ton of heavy undertones to the film that is touched upon and it’s not annoying it actually approaches the topics in a very real and emotional way that actually impacts you. The tone of the film is perfectly blended because you have the fast paced action which is greatly done in a way that doesn’t feel overdone because it’s never showing violence for the sake of if theirs always a reason for it. As well when you think maybe the action is getting to much they switch up the tones and can focus on the smaller more intimate moments and flesh out the characters backstories. They take time to get us attached to the characters while telling this really interesting premise so the best way to describe it is the films big cool premise never gets in the way of showing the characters emotional progression and their arcs. It’s a perfect blend of action and hard hitting emotion that’s equally weighted out. 

Secondly, The performances from the whole cast is fantastic! The performance that steals the show is Charlize with her amazing onscreen presence and fantastic emotionally depth she digs deep down as she shows so many sides to this complex character. She has this toughness to her but we learn as the film progresses that she has this  shield she hides behind to not show her true emotions and we see her really lay her heart on her sleeve in the last two acts of the film which blew me away. Then you have Matthias Schoenaerts who gives a fantastic supporting turn in this film as he brings this darkness to the screen not in a bad way but in a mysterious way. You see why he’s so quiet and kept to himself like Charlize and he brings this emotional intensity and vulnerability that makes you feel for him. The rest of the cast is great but it’s those two in particular that really stood out in terms of top notch performances. Everyone else all gave solid supporting performances as well that really kept you engaged in Every character as they all brought different qualities to the characters to make them stand out. 

Lastly, The Old Guard takes a tired genre and really injects a breath of fresh air into it. From it’s incredibly compelling narrative that’s so well layered and detailed that has you immediately immersed into that world. Then theirs the fantastic performances from the entire cast the standout being Charlize delivering once again another tremendous performance. It’s a film that has a lot of heart and delves into some very dark places emotionally and theirs not one moment you are not hooked into a scene. The Old Guard is action packed, emotional and so well crafted with its narrative this is a film I recommend everyone go check out. 

This film revolves around a team of 4 who are immortal but when they stumble upon a person who shares the same power they must protect her as forces are at hand to try to extract the immortality from them so that humanity can have it. 

Rated R : for sequences of graphic violence, and language

Charlize Theron : Theron delivers a fantastic performance once again with her turn in this film. Charlize portrays this warrior who never lets emotion cloud her judgment as she puts what’s important before anything else and we learn over the course of the film that she’s very emotionally guarded. Charlize plays the character in such a subtly emotional way that hits harder than if she was to just bare herself onscreen. We see so many layers of her character as the film progresses as we see how she has feels haunted by regret and emotional pain which she carries with her. The way Charlize shows this all onscreen was so emotionally honest as you can see the total pain in her eyes and in the way she delivers her dialogue. She can be so tough and intimating but then she also can fall apart in a sea of emotions. She has this constant conflict within herself going on through the whole film that she has to think about the mission but at the same time she can’t help but at times let her emotions get the best of her and how she is constantly in conflict within herself is so greatly Brought to the screen by Theron. We see the sad person behind the shield she hides behind and how utterly scared she truly is to loose people and it is truly heartbreaking and she does not hold back as she wraps herself up in every scene of this film with raw emotion that just hits you so hard. When you see someone close to her in potential danger of dying you see this desperation to keep them alive and it shows how much they mean to her but also that she can’t face living alone without her lord ones. Those small details and layers peeled back of the character really makes you feel for her and learn how emotionally vulnerable she is even with this tough image she puts over herself and Charlize does a truly outstanding job at delivering the required emotional depth needed to convey such a complex character to the screen. Charlize brings heartbreaking sadness to her eyes and then intense intimidation to the character in such an emotionally charged way that feels so authentic overall another strong performance by Charlize Theron. 

Gina Prince - Bythewood : Gina Delivers such strong direction to a very tired genre! Gina brought this Novel adaptation to the screen in such a fantastic way. This easily could of been another mediocre Action Sci-fi film but instead she used what is a tired genre and really injected great life into it. She never relies on the action to carry the film to entertain the audience but she made sure she took the strong narrative at hand and got the audience hooked into the story from its rich layered story and fantastic characters first and then she put the big over the top action sequences second. Which I think is the perfect way to go about approaching this kind of a film because the action never felt tired or too much she knew when to draw back but also knew when to lean into it as well. Then she blends the action with amazing elements of dramatic weight as their was some very dark moments in the film which she takes head on but never glosses over. She delivers the big high energy action in a gritty and brutal way and then can take time to really stretch out the characters arc’s and their backstories. It is definitely one of the best action Sci-fi films I have seen in a while as she never compromised the characters and the heart of the story for the big stylish theme and that I respect. She juggles so much and it works she tackles the darker themes greatly and really makes you think some deep thought provoking questions and then can also bring the high wire fun you expect. She delivers on all levels also getting a truly magnetic performance by Charlize Theron overall Gina brought such strong direction with beautiful layers to this film that worked so well a greatly directed film by Gina Prince - Bythewood.