THE OLD GUARD
OUT NOW (NETFLIX)
CERT MA15+ / 125 MINS
DIRECTOR Gina Prince-Blythewood
CAST Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Matthias Schoenaerts
PLOT Andy (Theron) leads a squad of elite mercenaries, taking on dangerous missions all over the world. They also happen to be immortals, who have fought in countless conflicts throughout the centuries. After their latest job goes bad, however, the team suspects someone is onto their secret.
WHO WANTS TO live forever? So asked Freddie Mercury on the soundtrack to 1986’s , a film toowes no small debt. That existential quandary lies at the heart of this Netflix original thriller, adapted by Greg Rucka from his and Leandro Fernández’s 2017 comic-book series. Charlize Theron’s Andromache Of Scythia (Andy to her friends) is a millennia-old warrior weighed down with undying ennui. Having spent most of recorded history up to her elbows in gore, she has witnessed the same old squabbles, the same inhumanity, and wonders if there’s any point to it all. But, after taking a year off (the immortal equivalent of a long weekend) to contemplate, she and her ageless teammates (Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli) reluctantly return to their calling as guns for hire. This time, though, the perennial quartet’s refusal to expire is captured on film, exposing their secret and leading to a showdown with the deadliest foe of all: an unscrupulous pharmaceutical company.
