Forever Is Harder Than It Looks

Kaleidoscope's latest is on Netflix's & Skydance Media's production of "The Old Guard".  Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, the movie stars Charlize Theron, Kiki Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Harry Melling, & Chiwetel Ejiofor.  Rated 'R', it has a running time of 2 hr., 5 min.

The film opens with former CIA agent Copley (Ejiofor) hiring Andromache ('Andy') of Scythia (Theron), Booker (Schoenaerts), Joe & Nicky to rescue a group of kidnapped children of the relatively new country of South Sudan--they think.  When they arrive, they are ambushed by a number of soldiers.  Unfortunately for those soldiers, Andy & her cohorts are Immortal.  When their wounds have healed, the Old Guard kills the soldiers.  To their surprise, they soon find recording equipment & realize that Copley is trying to prove the Guard's immortality for his, or others, gains.  Transition to Afghanistan where Marine Nile Freeman (Layne) & 2 others are ordered to check out a house that may be harboring a warlord.  Although she puts down the man, he has enough strength left, while she has turned away, to grab his knife and slit Nile's throat, thereby killing her.  Miraculously, however, she recovers without a scratch.  Right after, she shares a dream with the other Immortals, who are then alerted to her existence.  Andy travels to Afghanistan, tracks down Nile, & rescues Nile before the Marines can send her off for testing of her abilities.  Shift to England where Copley shows his video to Steven Merrick (Melling), head of a pharmaceutical company.  Merrick believes that if he can examine & test the Guard, he can develop products to prolong life.  Meanwhile, Andy has brought Nile to France so that she can meet the rest of the Guard, learn of their history, & reconcile herself to who & what she is.  Act I ends here as Copley & his team of mercenaries set out to try to capture the Guard.

Prince-Bythewood has fashioned a high octane adventure film that is laced with stretches of thoughtful dialogue on the complications & ramifications of eternal life.  She stages her action scenes so that they are both balletic & clear to comprehend.  To her credit, they do not go on too long as opposed to some other super-hero films that tend to elongate these stagings to the point of exhaustion.  The film's pacing equally melds the action & verbal sequences to provide a smooth stream.  Greg Rucka's screenplay, based on his graphic novel series, is certainly a more thoughtful one than many others; i.e, contrast the ruminations of this script with Joe Russo's from Netflix's earlier "Extraction".  While the former contains dialogue steeped in the realm of both the existential & metaphysical, the latter is merely concerned with moving the characters from one action sequence to another, albeit in a well-done manner.  The acting is of the action-genre generic with 2 exceptions.  Theron embodies 'Andy' with a equal measures of leadership, confidence, and, to her credit, a world-weariness that belies the first 2 traits.  While her beauty remains intact, it is tempered by her dark hair (instead of blonde) & her general scruffiness--altho not to the extent of her role in "Mad Max: Fury Road".  Layne's performance is the other standout;  Heretofore unknown to me, she is a riveting presence whenever she appears.  She provides a nice counterpoint as the New Guard in relation to Theron's & the others' Old Guard.  She is believable & sympathetic as she wrestles with, & eventually comes to accept, her immortal condition & how this knowledge has changed her life forever.  Her next role will be in the long-awaited sequel to 1988's "Coming to America".  Volker Bertelmann's & Dustin O'Halloran's score, while suitable, is mostly action-film generic--enjoyable to hear but instantly forgotten.  Barry Ackroyd's & Tami Reiker's cinematography is majestic & subtle at appropriate times.  The grittiness of the action scenes is well-captured by their camera.  Terilyn A. Shropshire's editing is especially noteworthy for the crispness & clarity of its transitions.  The audience is never left in doubt as to what is occurring onscreen.   

I give "The Old Guard" 8.25 out of 10 nuggets.  This film is a very good addition to Netflix's canon, especially during these trying times.  It provides a relief from what is going on around us while at the same time imparting thoughtful musings on life that are also apropos to our times.  Check it out asap!