The Old Guard (2020 film): Difference between revisions
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'''''The Old Guard''''' is a 2020 American [[ |
'''''The Old Guard''''' is a 2020 American [[action film]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sava |first1=Oliver |title=The Old Guard Is Not a Superhero Story |url=https://www.vulture.com/2020/07/the-old-guard-is-not-a-superhero-story-greg-rucka-interview.html}}</ref> directed by [[Gina Prince-Bythewood]] and written by [[Greg Rucka]], based on his comic book of the same name. The film stars [[Charlize Theron]], [[KiKi Layne]], [[Matthias Schoenaerts]], [[Marwan Kenzari]], [[Luca Marinelli]], and [[Chiwetel Ejiofor]], and follows a team of immortal mercenaries that go on a revenge mission. |
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''The Old Guard'' was released on July 10, 2020, on [[Netflix]]. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the action sequences. |
''The Old Guard'' was released on July 10, 2020, on [[Netflix]]. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the action sequences. |
Revision as of 18:38, 15 July 2020
The Old Guard | |
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![]() Official release poster | |
Directed by | Gina Prince-Bythewood |
Screenplay by | Greg Rucka |
Based on | The Old Guard by Greg Rucka Leandro Fernández |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | |
Edited by | Terilyn A. Shropshire |
Music by | |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date |
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Running time | 125 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $70 million[2][3][4] |
The Old Guard is a 2020 American action film[5] directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and written by Greg Rucka, based on his comic book of the same name. The film stars Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, and follows a team of immortal mercenaries that go on a revenge mission.
The Old Guard was released on July 10, 2020, on Netflix. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the action sequences.
Plot
Andromache ("Andy") of Scythia, Booker, Joe, and Nicky are centuries old warriors with regenerative healing abilities who use their vast experience to help people. Former CIA operative Copley hires them ostensibly to rescue a group of kidnapped children in South Sudan. During the mission, however, they are ambushed by a squad of soldiers. After healing their wounds and killing their attackers, they find recording equipment and realize that Copley set them up to expose their apparent immortality.
Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, U.S. Marine Nile Freeman has her throat slit while taking down a military target, only to recover without a scratch. Soon after, she shares a disturbing dream with the other immortals, who are then alerted to her existence. Despite the team's world-weariness, Andy tracks down and rescues Freeman before military personnel can abduct her for testing.
Copley shows video of the ambush to pharmaceutical executive Steven Merrick, who sends operatives to capture the team and learn the secrets of their abilities. Andy brings Nile to France, where Nile meets the rest of their team. She is told about Quynh, the first of Andy’s comrades, who centuries ago was captured by priests and cast into the sea in an iron maiden, and has been continually drowning ever since for more than 500 years. The group also reveals that they are not truly immortal: their ability to heal eventually stops without warning.
The group are ambushed by Merrick’s forces; Joe and Nicky are captured while a heavily wounded Booker is left behind as bait for Andy. Andy instead kills their assailants, but soon afterward discovers that she has lost her immortality, as the injuries she sustained in the fight have not healed. Booker locates Copley, but Nile declines to join them to go after him, unable to accept her destiny to outlive her friends and family.
Andy and Booker confront Copley, only for Booker to shoot her as more of Merrick's operatives close in. Booker defends his betrayal, arguing that Merrick might find a way to end their immortality. He realizes with horror that Andy isn't healing as they're captured. Copley has a change of heart when he sees that Merrick is willing to torture the immortals indefinitely to study them. Nile, having realized Booker sold out the group, arrives too late to intervene, but she convinces Copley to assist her in a rescue mission.
Copley and Nile storm Merrick’s London office. Nile advises Copley to go back because it is too dangerous for him. After the rest of the immortals are freed, they fight their way out through the rest of Merrick's security, ultimately killing Merrick himself.
As punishment for his betrayal, Andy forbids Booker from contacting the rest of them for 100 years. The rest of the group meet with Copley, who reveals how he had tracked them down, and how their past missions had a greater effect than they ever knew, with the descendants of people they've rescued going on to help the world. With renewed faith in their mission, the group tasks Copley with keeping their existence a secret.
Six months later in Paris, a drunken Booker is astonished to meet Quynh in his apartment.
Cast
- Charlize Theron as Andy / Andromache of Scythia
- KiKi Layne as Nile Freeman, a former US Marine who served in Afghanistan
- Matthias Schoenaerts as Booker / Sebastian Le Livre, once a French soldier who fought under Napoleon
- Marwan Kenzari as Joe / Yusuf Al-Kaysani, a Muslim warrior who had participated in the Crusades, as well as Nicky's lover
- Luca Marinelli as Nicky / Nicoló di Genova, a former Crusader. He and Joe started off as enemies, but became lovers after discovering their immortality
- Chiwetel Ejiofor as James Copley, former CIA agent grieving the loss of his wife from ALS
- Harry Melling as Steven Merrick, greedy CEO of a pharmaceutical empire
- Van Veronica Ngo as Quynh
- Anamaria Marinca as Dr. Meta Kozak
- Joey Ansah as Keane
Production
In March 2017, Skydance Media picked up the rights to adapt the comic The Old Guard, written by Greg Rucka and illustrated by Leandro Fernandez, into a film.[6] Rucka's contract stipulated that a major scene highlighting the romance between the characters Joe and Nicky from the comic book must also be in the film adaptation.[7]
On July 2018, they hired Gina Prince-Bythewood to direct with Rucka adapting his comic book to screenplay and Skydance's David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger producing.[8] With a budget of about $70 million, Prince-Bythewood became the first black woman to direct a big-budget comic book film.[3] In March 2019, Netflix picked up worldwide rights to the film and agreed to finance it with Skydance. Charlize Theron joined the film and also produced with Beth Kono, A.J. Dix, Marc Evans and Skydance's David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Don Granger.[9]
KiKi Layne was confirmed to star in the film after Netflix picked up the rights. In May 2019, Marwan Kenzari, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Luca Marinelli joined the cast of the film.[10][11] In June 2019, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Harry Melling, and Veronica Ngo joined the cast of the film.[12] At Ngo's request, details of her character were changed from the comic book. In an interview, Rucka said "When Veronica was cast, she said I’m not Japanese, I’m Vietnamese. [Director Gina Prince-Bythewood] reached out to me and said ‘Can we accommodate that?’ and I was like, ‘Absolutely.’ [...] Noriko becomes Quynh, Quynh is now Vietnamese. It really was as simple as wanting to honor that, and be respectful of that".[13] The other change to the character was the character's death. "In the comic, Quynh/Noriko is washed overboard during a storm rather than deliberately drowned. According to Rucka, that was partially a logistical change to save money. [...] But Quynh’s new 'death,' solidified by Prince-Bythewood’s suggestion of the iron maiden imagery, served an important narrative and tonal role as well".[13]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/Bourne_Wood_filming_The_Old_Guard_176.jpg/220px-Bourne_Wood_filming_The_Old_Guard_176.jpg)
Principal photography for the film began in Europe in mid-May 2019.[14][15] Filming took place in Morocco, the United Kingdom and at Shepperton Studios in England.[citation needed] Sandwich in Kent was used as a double for the French town Goussainville. Sandwich's Discovery Park doubled as Merrick Pharmaceutical headquarters throughout the film.[16]
Dustin O'Halloran and Hauschka composed the film score. Lakeshore Records released the soundtrack on July 10, 2020, coinciding with the film streaming release.[17]
Release
The Old Guard was released on July 10, 2020 on Netflix.[18] It was the top-streamed item on the site over its first weekend.[19]
Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 82% based on 174 reviews, with a weighted average of 6.57/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "The Old Guard is occasionally restricted by genre conventions, but director Gina Prince-Bythewood brings a sophisticated vision to the superhero genre - and some knockout action sequences led by Charlize Theron."[20] At Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[21]
Kate Erbland of IndieWire gave the film a "B+" and said: "Steeped in hand-to-hand action... but with enough ballistic firepower to kit out a small civil war, every action sequence is more than awe-inspiring; they're necessary to the film itself. Superhero battles that are eye popping and narratively motivated? Oh, yeah."[22] Owen Gleiberman of Variety called the film a "watchable franchise wannabe" and wrote: "Chunks of the picture are logy and formulaic (it dawdles on for two hours), but the director, Gina Prince-Bythewood (making a major lane change after Love & Basketball and The Secret Life of Bees), stages the fight scenes with ripe executionary finesse, and she teases out a certain soulful quality in her cast."[23]
Manuel São Bento of MSB Reviews gave the film a "B-", and said: "All in all, The Old Guard continues Netflix's trend of original action films boasting riveting set pieces, even though it doesn't quite reach Extraction's level. Greg Rucka delivers a screenplay packed with intriguing lore, which is well-explored and well-established for (what should be) the first movie in a new franchise." Although he praised Theron and Layne's performances, he also felt that the "use of electropop songs throughout the whole film" were "cringe-worthy" and took away from the film. He felt that the film did not live up to its full potential.[24]
Kevin Fallon of the The Daily Beast highlighted that The Old Guard "is the first movie with out gay superheroes, or the extremely (extremely) rare action film to feature queer characters and acknowledge their romance. [...] The sexuality of the characters is matter-of-fact and inconsequential to their ability to kick total-and-complete ass, yet also given the dignity of expressing and showing their love, which is extremely consequential to their daily lives—and has been for a millennia. Which is just about as long as it felt like we’ve been waiting for this".[25] Benjamin Lee, for The Guardian, wrote, "in 2020, it really shouldn’t be such a big deal, but watching a form of unfettered queer love exist within the confines of a fantastical comic book adaptation, aimed at a wide audience, felt major to me". Lee highlighted that this was able to occur because the film premiered on Netflix, however, "the downside is that when the film does inevitably become a streaming hit this weekend, studios won’t have a box office total to use as proof, to show that people aren’t terrified by two men kissing, a dumb indicator for sure but one that industry heads still desire".[26] Anna Menta of Decider wrote "I hadn’t read The Old Guard comic, and I didn’t know that writer Greg Rucka had stipulated in his contract that, whenever or however the film got made, it had to include that scene. So when it happened, well, it felt—and still does feel—like a huge freakin’ deal. [...] It’s just as passionate, just as charged, and just as sensual as Han and Leia, Peter and MJ, Peeta and Katniss, or any other heterosexual couple who’s had a big kiss moment in an action movie over the years".[27]
References
- ^ "The Old Guard". Netflix. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
- ^ Kyle Buchanan (July 10, 2020). "Gina Prince-Bythewood Made a Summer Blockbuster. It's About Time". The New York Times. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
- ^ a b Amanda N'Duka (July 10, 2020). "'The Old Guard' Director Gina Prince-Bythewood On Being The First Black Woman To Tackle A Big-Budget Comic Book Movie: "I Wanted My Shot" – Deadline Q&A". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
- ^ Scott Mendelson (July 11, 2020). "Charlize Theron's 'The Old Guard,' Currently Netflix's Most-Watched Movie, Is Yet Another Franchise-Starter That Feels Like A TV Pilot". Forbes. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
- ^ Sava, Oliver. "The Old Guard Is Not a Superhero Story".
- ^ "Skydance Picks Up Rights to Greg Rucka Comic 'Old Guard' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 2017-03-31. Retrieved 2017-04-01.
- ^ Ebiri, Bilge (2020-06-30). "Gina Prince-Bythewood, the Quiet Storm". Vulture. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
- ^ "Gina Prince-Bythewood to Direct 'The Old Guard' for Skydance". Deadline. 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2018-07-25.
- ^ "Charlize Theron & KiKi Layne Comic Book Action Feature 'The Old Guard' Lands At Netflix". Deadline. 2019-02-21. Retrieved 2019-04-09.
- ^ Kit, Borys (May 28, 2019). "Jafar Actor Marwan Kenzari Joins Charlize Theron in Action Thriller 'Old Guard' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
- ^ Kit, Borys (May 31, 2019). "Matthias Schoenaerts, Luca Marinelli Board Charlize Theron Action Thriller 'The Old Guard'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
- ^ Wiseman, Andreas (June 21, 2019). "'The Old Guard': Chiwetel Ejiofor, Harry Melling & Veronica Ngo Join Netflix & Skydance Media's Action-Fantasy". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
- ^ a b Polo, Susana (2020-07-10). "Netflix's Old Guard ends with setup for a devastating sequel, says the comic's creator". Polygon. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
- ^ "'THE OLD GUARD' WILL BEGIN FILMING IN EUROPE IN MID-MAY". Geeks Worldwide. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
- ^ Goundry, Nick (May 20, 2019). "Comic book movie The Old Guard filming". TheKnowledgeOnline.com. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
- ^ "Kent Film Office".
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Exclusive: Listen to a Track from Netflix's 'The Old Guard' Score by Volker Bertelmann and Dustin O'Halloran". 26 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- ^ Breznican, Anthony (May 7, 2020). "First Look at Charlize Theron's Immortal Warrior in The Old Guard". Vanity Fair. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
- ^ Rowles, Dustin (July 12, 2020). "Weekend Box Office: The Most-Watched Movies At Home (And In Drive-In Theaters) Over The Weekend". Uproxx. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
- ^ "The Old Guard (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ "The Old Guard Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ Erbland, Kate (July 3, 2020). "'The Old Guard' Review: Gina Prince-Bythewood Delivers Netflix's Best 2020 Action Movie". IndieWire. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
- ^ Gleiberman, Owen (July 3, 2020). "Charlize Theron in 'The Old Guard' on Netflix: Film Review". Variety. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
- ^ "The Old Guard (2020) - SPOILER-FREE Review". MSB Reviews. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Fallon, Kevin (2020-07-13). "'The Old Guard' Finally Gives Us Gay Superheroes". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
- ^ Lee, Benjamin (2020-07-10). "Finally, a major Hollywood franchise movie with a gay romance | Benjamin Lee". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
- ^ Menta, Anna (2020-07-13). "'The Old Guard' Kiss Is The LGBT Representation Action Movies Need". Decider. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
External links
- 2020 films
- 2020 LGBT-related films
- 2020 thriller films
- 2020s action thriller films
- 2020s superhero films
- American action thriller films
- American films
- American LGBT-related films
- American superhero films
- Fiction about immortality
- Films based on Image Comics
- Films directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood
- Films produced by Charlize Theron
- Films set in France
- Films set in London
- Films set in Morocco
- Films set in South Sudan
- Films shot at Shepperton Studios
- Gay-related films
- Girls with guns films
- LGBT-related thriller films
- Live-action films based on comics
- Netflix original films
- Skydance Media films
- Superhero thriller films
- War in Afghanistan (2001–present) films