The Old Guard (2020)
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood
Four undying warriors who've secretly protected humanity for centuries become targeted for their mysterious powers just as they discover a new immortal.
40 connections found
View:
40 films that influenced The Old Guard
What critics say influenced The Old Guard
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.
The good news is, The Old Guard is better than Highlander II — but that's true of literally every movie ever.
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.
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.
Advertisement
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.
This becomes a recurring theme that wears out quickly, eventually taking on a weird hybrid of “Groundhog Day” meets “Edge of Tomorrow.”
It all feels like a mash-up of Interview with a Vampire , Highlander , The Terminator , Edge of Tomorrow and Wonder Woman, with its “immortals influencing history” conceit.
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.)
Charlize Theron is an immortal mercenary with an axe to grind in The Old Guard , a brutally violent sci-fi/fantasy/espionage thriller from the director of Love & Basketball and Beyond the Lights (no, really!).
Prince-Bythewood is a good director, as evidenced by previous work like “Love & Basketball” and “Beyond the Lights,” so it’s a pity that she’s saddled with such a rotten script and lackadaisical stunt coordination.
Theron and Netflix put a woman behind the camera, Gina Prince-Bythewood, who hasn’t had the sort of career opportunities a debut like “Love & Basketball” should have given her.
Director Gina Prince-Bythewood (“Love & Basketball”) attempts plenty of character development despite the genre trappings.
Prince-Bythewood is the other kind: in the years since her marvelous debut, the 2000 Love & Basketball, she has made only two features, The Secret Life of Bees (2008) and Beyond the Lights (2014).
La directora Gina Prince-Bythewood ( Love & Basketball , Beyond the Lights ) dirige esta película de acción basada en la serie de novelas gráficas de 2017 de Greg Rucka y el ilustrador argentino Leandro Fernández.
Gina Prince-Bythewood (“Love and Basketball”/”Beyond the Lights”), the rare woman of color who directs, mounts this action pic with oodles of verve.
Prince-Bythewood is a good director, as evidenced by previous work like “Love & Basketball” and “Beyond the Lights,” so it’s a pity that she’s saddled with such a rotten script and lackadaisical stunt coordination.
Director Gina Prince-Bythewood ( Beyond the Lights ) does a fantastic job with the action sequences, which aren’t as spastic and all over the place like too many gun-focused fight scenes.
Prince-Bythewood is the other kind: in the years since her marvelous debut, the 2000 Love & Basketball, she has made only two features, The Secret Life of Bees (2008) and Beyond the Lights (2014).
Director Gina Prince-Bythewood ("Love & Basketball," "Beyond the Lights") knocks her first action movie out of the park, her background in romance coming into play in the most startling and deeply meaningful way here.
Prince-Bythewood is the other kind: in the years since her marvelous debut, the 2000 Love & Basketball, she has made only two features, The Secret Life of Bees (2008) and Beyond the Lights (2014).
Prince Bythewood has been revered as one of a few successful Black women directors in Hollywood, ever since the success of her iconic debut Love and Basketball (2000), which she followed with the high-profile The Secret Life of Bees (2008) and the underrated Beyond the Lights (2014).
There are times when the exposition klaxon sounds and the pacing dips as director Gina Prince-Bythewood (Shots Fired, The Secret Life of Bees) tries to cram in backstory but, like its heroes, The Old Guard does a lot of good along the way.
But just as she did with her last film, 2014’s pop-music romance Beyond the Lights (too long ago!), director Gina Prince-Bythewood ( The Secret Life of Bees ) elevates a familiar genre by immersing us in genuine, unsentimental feeling even as she embraces the tropes.
With titles that include Love & Basketball and The Secret Life of Bees , Gina Prince-Bythewood is the latest filmmaker to take the plunge, and she does so with thoughtful abandonment.
Director Gina Prince-Blythewood (best known for such smaller dramas as “The Secret Life of Bees,” “Behind the Lights” and “Love and Basketball”) approaches her heavily choreographed money shots with a sense of finesse that robs them of their punch.
Advertisement
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 .