Gina Prince-Bythewood
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Highlander (1986)
Directed by Russell Mulcahy
influenced The Old Guard (2020)
Themes Visuals Music Plot
Nada hasta la fecha se compara con Highlander, incluso opacó la carrera de la eterna promesa Christopher Lambert.
There are many reasons why these mythic warriors would be morose about the constant decay around them or the sense of repetition in their lives without receiving any semblance of a purpose for why they’ve been “chosen,” but from “Tuck Everlasting” to Wolverine to those sword-wielding “Highlander” folks and everything in between, it’s always such drudgery.
So asked Freddie Mercury on the soundtrack to 1986’s Highlander , a film to which The Old Guard owes no small debt.
But Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Old Guard is something different, stranger, living somewhere between the existential brooding of Highlander and the tactical-porn precision of the John Wick films (or Theron’s previous dip into that style, Atomic Blonde ).
When it comes to the myth of immortality, the sweeping sentiments of Queen from the Highlander soundtrack say it best.
The good news is, The Old Guard is better than Highlander II — but that's true of literally every movie ever.
Reportedly, GPB was inspired by films like Braveheart (1995), Gladiator (2000), and The Last of the Mohicans (1992) which are powerful action epics with strong emotional resonance.
The story of the Agojie (also called Amazons by Europeans) and their role during King Ghezo’s reign is akin to the stuff of Braveheart and Lawrence of Arabia : a fight for justice and freedom, unlikely odds of success, and highly choreographed action.
From Spartacus to Braveheart, they employ men both in front of and behind the camera.
Bound to draw comparisons to semi-similar works such as Braveheart and Gladiator , in the end, The Woman King sits capably on a throne of its creation.
Furthermore, the film does some creative things with the form, including inserting the characters in world history in a way that recalls the Woody Allen film Zelig, or perhaps the “Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man” episode of The X-Files.
As directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood -- who works from Greg Rucka's screenplay adaptation of his own graphic novel of the same name -- the pic moves along at a quick clip (despite its slightly too-long running time of just a bit more than two hours) -- and is filled with decently choreographed and executed action sequences (albeit not to the same "holy cow" level of the equally violent and graphic "John Wick" flicks).
87eleven Action Design, the team that created John Wick, and Daniel Hernandez, the fight choreography from Birds of Prey, did the action for The Old Guard.
But Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Old Guard is something different, stranger, living somewhere between the existential brooding of Highlander and the tactical-porn precision of the John Wick films (or Theron’s previous dip into that style, Atomic Blonde ).
Bullets don’t fly as freely as they do in series like the John Wick movies, but The Old Guard still amasses a high body count and its fair share of bloody injuries.
There are plenty of bone-crunching fights and John Wick -ian close-up gun battles (the squib work alone in this picture!) to satisfy those simply looking for a visceral surge.
Reportedly, GPB was inspired by films like Braveheart (1995), Gladiator (2000), and The Last of the Mohicans (1992) which are powerful action epics with strong emotional resonance.
Skydance es realmente conocido por grandes producciones cinematográficas como las últimas películas de la famosa serie Mission: Impossible, pero también ha estado trabajando con el servicio de transmisión por algún tiempo y juntos se dieron cuenta de la hiperactiva pérdida de tiempo de 6 Underground de Michael Bay o justo ahora la adaptación del cómic The Old Guard, filmada por la desconocida directora Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love and Basketball), que pisa el género fantástico y de acción por primera vez.
This narrative surrounding skilled, immortal mercenaries protecting the world from centuries of danger while avoiding detection mixes the underground intrigue of 2008’s “Wanted” with the globetrotting pleasures of a “Mission: Impossible” movie.
The Old Guard has a sky-high concept (think 2008’s miscue of Jumper with its attempt at applying a centuries-old saga) with a low energy for expanding ideas.
Themes of creative identity, mental heath, sexism in the music industry, romantic partnership and family pressure take center stage in this hidden gem of a movie from "Love & Basketball" director Gina Prince-Bythewood.
Think Robert Altman doing noir with The Long Goodbye , or Terrence Malick making a war movie with The Thin Red Line .
(Sadly, this is what we get instead of An American in Paris.)
Director Gina Prince-Bythewood ( Love & Basketball , Cloak & Dagger ) knows what works and exploits those elements.
Prince-Bythewood, while still best known for her singular romantic drama “Love & Basketball,” is no stranger to comic book work, having been long attached to direct “Silver and Black” (a Sony production meant to team up Spiderman stars Silver Sable and Black Cat) and even directing an episode of Marvel’s short-lived “Cloak & Dagger” series.
Prince-Bythewood, usually associated with romantic dramas like Love and Basketball or Beyond the Lights , isn’t the first name you’d think of for a film like this (though her work directing the series premiere of Freeform’s Cloak & Dagger showed she was more than ready).
Think Robert Altman doing noir with The Long Goodbye , or Terrence Malick making a war movie with The Thin Red Line .
This becomes a recurring theme that wears out quickly, eventually taking on a weird hybrid of “Groundhog Day” meets “Edge of Tomorrow.”
Shot by Barry Ackroyd ( The Hurt Locker , 2008) and Tami Reiker (who worked with Prince-Bythewood on Beyond the Lights ), the exotic continent-hopping locales aren’t quite as memorable as one might hope, while flashbacks from centuries past involving Andy and her first sidekick (Van Veronica Ngo) tend to make The Old Guard feel like the pilot for an elaborate television series, an X-Men spin-off which plays a lot like if Anne Rice were to resurrect the Highlander franchise.
We all know where this is going, but the bruising action sequences, expertly shot by Barry Ackroyd (“The Hurt Locker” “United 93”) zing the frames with some much-needed excitement.
Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)
Directed by Jim Jarmusch
influenced The Old Guard (2020)
Visuals Themes
If Ridley Scott had made Only Lovers Left Alive, it might have looked something like The Old Guard.
Nicky and Joe’s romantic ardor, undimmed by the passage of time, brings back warm memories of Jim Jarmusch’s “Only Lovers Left Alive.”
So, when an actress like Meryl Streep chose to do Mamma Mia! and people were aghast, I was thrilled because it felt like a project she wanted to do, rather than one she felt she had to.
Theron has more than proved her action flick chops with Mad Max: Fury Road and Atomic Blonde, but even she struggles to get through some hard-to-sell dialogue here, while still being one of the film’s greater successes.
Hay secuencias de lucha y combate mano a mano en las que Theron demuestra una vez más que Mad Max: Fury Road y Atomic Blonde no fueron anomalías y ella es una estrella de acción con mayúsculas.
Choreographed fight scenes featuring Theron specifically pale in comparison to sequences like Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) or Atomic Blonde (2017), which lends The Old Guard a rote, indifferent energy.
Despite the story limitations, Theron is on fine form as the Scythian Methuselah, borrowing Furiosa’s steely glower and channelling her aptitude for complex choreography previously showcased in Atomic Blonde .
Dud evil mastermind aside, the characters are strong; the emotional scenes are better than most Marvel/DC blockbusters, and the action should satisfy anyone who's been yearning to see Theron tearing through walls since her last physicality masterclass in 2017's Atomic Blonde.
In the last five years, Charlize Theron has established a surprisingly thrilling second act in her career as an ass-kicking action star, in such movies as Mad Max: Fury Road and Atomic Blonde that feature the actress in ample scenes of well-choreographed hand-to-hand combat.
This narrative surrounding skilled, immortal mercenaries protecting the world from centuries of danger while avoiding detection mixes the underground intrigue of 2008’s “Wanted” with the globetrotting pleasures of a “Mission: Impossible” movie.
It’s not quite like assisting “Fate” as the characters did in Wanted .
In some respects, The Old Guard feels like a return to action thrillers, but there are so few with women in charge of a group, we’ve only seen it in movies like Charlie’s Angels or another Theron vehicle, Mad Max: Fury Road .
Theron’s world-weary Andy is clearly modelled on the Alien franchise’s Ellen Ripley and Terminator ’s Sarah Connor, while the “newbie guide to a mysterious organisation” is straight out of last year’s Charlie’s Angels and countless other flicks.
Being a superhero isn’t an easy gig, an idea that has inspired recent cinematic explorations ranging from the sublime (“Logan”) to the ridiculous (Tobey Maguire going goth in “Spider-Man 3”).