Charlize Theron and Kiki Layne Are Holding it Down in The Old Guard

There’s always been a fantasy amongst humans desiring to live forever.  What does that really mean? You would outlive your family and friends while traveling from century to century trading old memories for new adventures.  Is it lonely, exciting, fulfilling or just a prolonged means to an unpredictable demise. When this hydraulic field flick kicks off, Andy and her team being taken out execution style, you know that there is not turning back and the audience will be intrigued at how we came to this event.

Andy (Charlize Theron) leads a covert group of tight-knit warrior mercenaries have been fighting for centuries protecting the mortal world with an uncanny ability to never die. But when they on an emergency mission, their extraordinary abilities are exposed, leaving Andy vulnerable.  However, Andy takes training their newest recruit Nile (KiKi Layne), who assist in eliminating threats of those who seeking to replicate and monetize their power by any means necessary.

Based on Greg Rucka’s graphic novel (screenwriter) and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood (1st Black female director to take on this genre) The Old Guard  is a gritty, action-packed tale illustrating living forever is not all it’s cracked up to be.  Blythewood proves what those of us who are fans of her work (Love and Basketball, The Secret Life of Bees, Beyond The Lights) already knew, that storytelling lives in the heart of those telling the story…not their gender.

Charlize Theron is a formidable adversary who’s struggled to bring female stories to motion pictures (Tully, Bombshell) and her latest effort falls right in line with her action and producing brand.  This time, she has company with newbie Kiki Layne (If Beale Street Could Talk), and together they kick but all over and aboard a moving aircraft no less resulting in one of the this film’s most high octane moments (filmed on their first day of shooting).  “It’s really this beautiful physical storytelling of really these two characters trying to figure each other out,” says Theron and Kiki adds “she (Niles) doesn’t have the same experience as Andy (Theron) but she has the same heart.”  Let me give one of my other favs Matthias Schoenaerts (The Mustang, A Hidden Life, The Laundromat) some praise as Booker.  His attitude while betraying his friends is complicated, yet beautiful at best and Chiwitel Ejiofor, as always, shines and is effective as Copely who is definitely not the dude he appears to be on the surface.

While we wait for the sequel, this action packed drama is one of the Top Ten streaming picks of the week on Netflix, grab some popcorn and a cocktail to enjoy this one right now!