Let me start by making it perfectly clear that Charlize Theron is and has been one of my crushes. As of late though, she has turned in a couple flicks that fell a bit flat. In Gringo (which was a good film) she let me down because she developed such a potty mouth. That said, I was expecting to be disappointed when I saw The Old Guard on Netflix.

Boy was I wrong. I really liked this film. I loved the fresh take on heroes. The premise was fantastical but believable. The acting was good. The action was really good (even though the short cuts were a little too short at time.) I love when a new story is shared without a lot of known actors. When there are too many well-known stars, they bring their own character baggage with them. With fresh faces, the story is easier to believe.

The only downside, was that I was left with the feeling that it was a movie-length setup for a TV series. (And that was before I saw the clip run during the credits.) The reason it will be a tough sell as a series is because

  • a) Charlize isn’t going to do a weekly action series. It’s just too much work for an established actress. That said, the storyline was already setup to see this as her exit.
  • b) the whole premise of the show is based on the characters not changing – something that will be tough a few season down the road.

As a one-off movie The Old Guard rocks. Heck, it could even pull of a sequel but don’t expect much more if you want to see the quality remain high.

by Chris Doelle

Rating 8 of 10