The Old Guard

"Forever is harder than it looks."

2020 2h 5m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

★7.1TMDB · 4,992

ActionFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Four undying warriors who've secretly protected humanity for centuries become targeted for their mysterious powers just as they discover a new immortal.

“Forever is harder than it looks.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Charlize Theron
Andromache of Scythia / Andy
KiKi Layne
Nile Freeman
Veronica Ngô
Quynh
Matthias Schoenaerts
Sebastien Le Livre / Booker
Marwan Kenzari
Yusuf Al-Kaysani / Joe
Luca Marinelli
Nicolò di Genova / Nicky
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Copley
Harry Melling
Merrick

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Writers: Greg Rucka, Douglas Ingram, Brian Murray
Languages: English, Italian, Russian, Arabic, French
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $70M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 6 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 5 languages: English, Italian, Russian, Arabic, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Part of the "The Old Guard Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

305+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, shot by Tami Reiker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Dustin O'Halloran. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Terilyn A. Shropshire shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gina Prince-Bythewood directs. Tami Reiker behind the camera. Dustin O'Halloran scores. Terilyn A. Shropshire cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Italian, Russian, Arabic, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $70M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Released 6 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 5 languages: English, Italian, Russian, Arabic, French.
4Part of the "The Old Guard Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5305+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, shot by Tami Reiker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Dustin O'Halloran. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Terilyn A. Shropshire shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Charlize Theron and KiKi Layne and Veronica Ngô carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Forever is harder than it looks.".
11IMDB entry: tt7556122 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Tami Reiker
Original score: Dustin O'Halloran
Editing: Terilyn A. Shropshire
Production design: Paul Kirby
Costume design: Mary E. Vogt
Makeup / hair: Claire Campbell
VFX supervisor: Benjamin Mossman
Sound: Austin Roth
Stunt coordinator: Brycen Counts
Runtime: 125 min · 2h 5m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $70,000,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Old Guard (2020)

Awards

Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

The Old Guard Collection

The Old Guard is a series of films based on the comic book series of the same name, created by writer Greg Rucka and artist Leandro Fernández. The series revolves around a group known as the Old Guard, a small but skilled team of individuals who seemingly cannot die...and yet cannot seem to fade away. Cursed with immortality, Andromache of Scythia and her comrades-in-arms ply their trade for those who can find-and afford-their services. But in the 21st century, being immortal is a difficult secret to keep, and when you live long enough, you learn that there are many fates far worse than death.

Also by

Gina Prince-Bythewood

Stills · wallpapers

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

MovieGuys2020-07-11
We all remember "Highlander". It was an instant classic, memorable, heartfelt, romantic, exciting, fantastic soundtrack....... Well "The Old Guard" is its antithesis. Its a brittle tale of justification for globalist Western meddling, social justice, politics of sexuality and more. Once again, the story has been mostly fogotten. It wanders around a bit, has a predictable twist and finally falls out of a window, literally. The action scenes are fine, as is the acting but these are only ingredients and in this case the "mix" is very wrong. I hope and pray this is the first and last of these. That said, it looks like they are gearing up for a second one. I can only imagine what that will be like....... 2/10.
Manuel São Bento2020-07-13
★ 6/10
If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog @ https://www.msbreviews.com Netflix isn't exactly known for its original action films, and when these occasionally appear, most tend to be more comedic than focusing on the action itself (Spenser Confidential, 6 Underground). However, 2020 seems to be the year chosen by Netflix to surprise its viewers with ruthless, bloody, violent action. A few months ago, Extraction became the studio's best original action flick and one of the better movies ever released from the streaming network. Therefore, my expectations for The Old Guard were reasonably high, having in mind that it has Charlize Theron as the protagonist, and Greg Rucka as the sole screenwriter (he's one of the two creators of the original comics the film is based on). Overall, it's a pretty decent movie that could have been a lot better had it reached the potential that it possesses. First of all, any film that focuses more on starting a franchise than actually being a good movie sets itself up to fail miserably. Fortunately, even though Gina Prince-Bythewood's feature does establish saga-worthy lore, it never makes it its number one priority. In fact, until the penultimate shot of the film, I was genuinely worried that a certain storyline wasn't going to have closure due to the "we need to save something for the sequel" mentality… However, Greg Rucka clearly knows what he needed to write for the first installment of a possible franchise, and what he needed to save for the following chapters. The story is truly intriguing and mysterious, owning deep and complex mythology that doesn't have unambiguous answers. One of the aspects I love the most about Rucka's narrative is how it balances the abstract and philosophical approach to immortality. As weird as it might sound, immortality is depicted in such a believable manner even though everything about it feels unbelievably crazy. Even logically, all the questions one can have regarding "how immortal can they be?" are answered in some shape or form, so it's evident that Rucka wanted to make immortality something incredibly real and well-grounded. Charlize Theron's character gets her past very well-explored through flashbacks and a couple of captivating dialogues with her team. Andy is a tremendously easy character for the viewer to root for, and her "badassery" definitely helps strengthen that emotional connection. Kiki Layne is a major surprise for me, she delivers an impressive performance! I missed out on If Beale Street Could Talk, so this makes my first time watching her on the "big screen", and I can't' wait to see what she does next. Her character, Nile, is also quite interesting to learn about. She has to make extremely challenging life decisions for such a young woman, making her a candidate to steal Andy's spotlight in the following movies (which are undoubtedly happening). I wish that the screenplay packed less forced exposition, but I do understand the difficulties in explaining so many "rules" about this world without having a few dialogues exclusively meant to deliver that information. Rucka and Gina could have made better narrative decisions concerning a few storylines. Some sequences carry an immense potential that is never reached, leaving me wanting a bit more from a particular character or a specific subplot. The action is definitely above average, but it's far from the quality of Extraction, for example. Some action set pieces are really well-choreographed and well-edited (Terilyn A. Shropshire), but most employ the generic "punch and cut quickly" style. As nitpicky as it might be, for a rated-R film, the gunshots didn't have the visual and audible impact that they should have, being awkwardly unflashy throughout most of the runtime. In the end, the action is entertaining enough to make any viewer grab the popcorn bucket and eat everything. Nevertheless, two aspects heavily damage the film. The song selection is as cringe-worthy as it can be. I'm not entirely sure if the score composers (Volker Bertelmann, Dustin O'Halloran) are the ones to blame, but the excruciating insertion of an electropop song every ten minutes, including mid-action, ruins the dark, somber tone that the movie possesses, and it distracts from the actual fighting. The other aspect has to do with the "villain". I can't delve into details, but Gina and Rucka could have created a phenomenal antagonist whose moral motivations would resonate with every viewer, but instead, the "I want money" motive made the cut. 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. Some sequences are indeed well-choreographed and well-edited, but most feel simply generic and just fun enough. As one of the creators of the original comics, 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. With the remarkable direction of Gina Prince-Bythewood, the main focus goes to making a good film instead of trying to get in as much information as possible. Charlize Theron and KiKi Layne offer excellent performances as the two well-developed and emotionally compelling protagonists. However, the cringe-worthy use of electropop songs throughout the whole film damages many moments. For a story containing a moral dilemma at its center, the choice of a money-driven villain feels disappointing and extremely unfulfilling, having in mind the antagonist's potential. It's an entertaining action flick, no doubt about it… but it carried so much potential that it's a shame it didn't reach half of it. Rating: B-
5rJoud2021-07-02
★ 1/10
Unwatchable This B-movie directed by an amateur has a horrible soundtrack you only will find pleasing when you never had the chance to develop a taste. The super star you love from Fury Road has a boyish haircut that makes her even more unlikable than a missing limb and baldness. One of the opening scenes is her (Charlize Theron's) buddies betting on her being able to name the ingredients of a piece of pastry she eats. Who cares? Not me. Does it do something for the plot, story, or character development? Of course not. There is no meaningful dialogue either. Nothing makes the viewer want to find out why these people have Wolverine's healing powers. Here is a tip for making a scene believable: When a crew of mercenaries gets shot down in an ambush and starts moving again in a room full of enemies, one will notice. And a lot of gory head shooting would ensue. Not a melee dominated by wonky pseudo martial-arts, which unfortunately was depicted. Not even an extra star due to production value for this hot garbage. 12 July 2020 I am migrating my reviews from a different site which has become simply garbage. TMDB looks awesome and I look forward to be a part of it.