Review: ‘Old Guard’ lacks unique elements in superhero genre
September 11, 2020
“The Old Guard” came out this July as the first superhero movie directed by a Black woman. The movie topped Netflix’s chart within the first weekend of it being released.
Beginning with the typical monologue of a superhero movie, I immediately get hit with blood and wounds, realizing what kind of film this is going to be as soon as the action starts within the first 10 minutes of the movie.
The main character Andy, played by Charlize Theron, shines as the cold and mysterious leader. I was impressed with Matthias Schoenaerts acting in this movie as his character, Booker. His character’s attitude had me unsettled in the beginning but I ended up feeling remorse and to my surprise, liking him in the end. The witty comments from my favorite couple, Joe (Marwan Kenzari) and Nicky (Luca Marinelli) brought light to a serious and action-packed movie.
Each character’s acting was great, but the movie itself proved average. It was definitely worth a watch, but it wouldn’t be something I would rewatch. The use of the basic superhero storyline was a little disappointing as I had expected something more unique from a more adult superhero movie, but it had the classic ‘these villains know our secret, and we need to defeat them’ plot. It even has the young, tiresome, know-it-all scientist Steven Merrick, who carried a similarity to Carlton Drake in Venom.
Most superhero movies follow a generic storyline and this one is no different with the exception of the inclusion of a strong female lead and a strong supporting female lead played by Kiki Layne as Nile. The importance of this inclusion should be acknowledged as this genre portrays mainly male leads. Andy and Nile join a small club of women in the superhero world, similar to recent successes like Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel.
The musical score was impressive and contributed to the tones of the scenes in the movie, upbeat and powerful during fight scenes and slow and soft during the few heart to heart scenes. This helped add a level of complexity that may have not been noticed before in the character.
If superhero movies are your cup of tea, you’ll be a fan of this one too. However, if you are expecting something more unique, your expectations might not be met. The Old Guard is two hours of good superhero plot that doesn’t necessarily need to be repeated.
