'The Old Guard' is a slick and smart action blockbuster from Netflix

If nothing else, The Old Guard on Netflix is a great reminder of how satisfying it is to see Charlize Theron kick some ass.
By Adam Rosenberg  on 
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'The Old Guard' is a slick and smart action blockbuster from Netflix

If nothing else, The Old Guard on Netflix is a great reminder of how satisfying it is to see Charlize Theron kick some ass. But make no mistake: There's plenty more to commend about director Gina Prince-Bythewood's take on the comic from Greg Rucka, which he also adapted here for film.

Theron stars as Andromache of Scythia (Andy for short), the leader of a squad of immortal warriors who have spent centuries fighting for what they think is right, based on their lived experiences over all those years. And as it turns out, the contours of that moral compass are wholly shaped by the group's individual and shared traumas.

Andy, for example, has intimate knowledge of the persecution women were subjected to in the midst of 16th century witch hunts in Europe. Nicky (Luca Marinelli) and Joe (Marwan Kenzari) were mortal enemies in an ancient religious war who eventually became lovers – and so, so much more than that – as their fates intertwined.

Even the newer members of the group have their pain. Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts) left the mortal world behind in the early 1800s. The scars of losing his family – and really, everything he's ever known – remain fresher for him than for the others. It's a different kind struggle for him, more rooted in personal loss than persecution, but it's essential to Booker's arc through the story.

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Credit: AIMEE SPINKS/NETFLIX

Finally, there's Nile Freeman (KiKi Layne), a U.S. Marine and the low-key star of this story. Her awakening into immortality is a piece of what sets the movie's story into motion, and it's through her that we learn many of the rules of this world.

Nile is no stranger to trauma herself, having grown up as a Black woman in modern America, but the impact of that trauma on this new existence is more implicit for her than it is for the rest. Nile's journey is defined much more by her introduction to immortality and the immediate need to come to grips with that. And her understanding of that immortality is shaped by the growing connection to her new comrades.

The looming threat they all face is a fitting foe, if not a terribly surprising one. A Big Pharma company led by the scheming slimeball Merrick (Harry Welling) gets wind of the immortals and hatches a plan to capture them. He wants to use their unique biological makeups to run tests and hopefully develop world-changing treatments.

The Old Guard on Netflix is a great reminder of how satisfying it is to see Charlize Theron kick some ass.

Really though, Merrick is in it for the money. Morals and ethics are foreign concepts to him. He regards the immortals only as potential test subjects and has no compunctions about imprisoning them and subjecting them to painful experiments. He's also a scrawny little coward protected by a hired army of men with guns. You absolutely love to hate him.

The story's ups and downs are driven entirely by this cat-and-immortal-mouse chase. And while most of it sticks to a formulaic and easily anticipated series of twists, the pleasure is in the details. Each character's motivations are supported by tangible plot points that are addressed in the story, and the slick, fast-moving action is as abundant as it is thrilling.

The Old Guard is very good about crossing its t's and dotting its i's. If you're paying attention, and it's hard not to thanks to the riveting pace across two hours of movie, you'll never struggle to understand why a character is making one choice or another. Formulaic storytelling isn't a bad thing when all the pieces are as carefully considered and sequenced as they are here.

A few threads are left to dangle by the time it's all over, but there's clearly a bigger plan in the works here. Intriguing characters like Chiwetel Ejiofor's Copley and Veronica Ngo's Quynh beg for more development, but that will have to wait for another story. If nothing else, it's nice to see some possible directions a bigger view of this world could move in.

None of that takes away from the basic fact that The Old Guard is a welcome showcase of Theron's natural ability to lead an action movie with energy and deadly precision. She and the rest of the cast also benefit greatly from Bythewood-Prince's sharp direction and a script that effortlessly weaves together exposition, motivation, and action. If you're a Netflix subscriber and you've got an itch for some summer blockbuster thrills, this just the thing to scratch it.

The Old Guard is available to stream on Netflix starting July 10.

Topics Netflix

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Adam Rosenberg

Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.


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