A review of the 2020 action movie “The Old Guard”
Charlize Theron in combat mode is always a sight to behold. After her stand-out performances in “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) and “Atomic Blonde” (2017), she has the lead role in “The Old Guard” which, as a Netflix movie appearing at the beginning of the pandemic, went straight to streaming. Theron plays the leader of a small team of immortal mercenaries who, in the present day, are about to gain a new recruit, if they can stay ahead of big pharma which wants to exploit their special genetics. The story is based a on graphic novel by Greg Rucka who is the debut screenwriter.This is quite a progressive work: Theron is not just the lead actor but a co-director; the female director Gina Prince-Bythewood and two of the main actors are black; and there is a gay scene between two of the superheroes. This would not be enough commend it but, in addition, there are plenty of exciting acting sequences and a decent screenplay. The final scene neatly sets us up for a sequel and it looks like there’s a franchise in the making.