The Old Guard

Wenn sich Charlize mit der Apothekerin küssen würde, die ihr die Schulter behandelt, würde sich der bizarre Kreis des Films schließen. Eine seltsame Mischung von existenziellen Bram-Stoker-Motiven, eine beinahe parodistische Rassen-, Gender- und LGBT-Korrektheit, alle möglichen Klischees aus dem Action- und Science-Fiction-Genre und das alles mit einer zu großen Betonung der Emotionen und Beweggründe der Figuren, was manchmal wirkungsvoll und manchmal dumm ist. Das Ergebnis ist aber immer noch besser und die Handlung hält mehr zusammen als bei dem Netflix-Team-Film von Bay, der vor Kurzem erschien. (29.07.2020)

Auf den ersten Blick hat Old Guard als ein bombastischer Riesen-Action-Streifen ausgeschaut. Das Gegenteil ist aber die Wahrheit. Es handelt sich um einen totalen Unsinn schon was das Thema angeht. Zwei Aspekte stechen in diesem Film heraus: die extrem unangenehme Charlize Theron und die überraschend gute Kampfszenen. Mad Max: Fury Road ist halt nicht Old Guard, damit sich Charlize zwar genauso wie er benehmen könnte, das Ergebnis aber ein entgegengesetztes ist. (15.07.2020)

Das Ganze zerfällt, ist tempoarm, entbehrt einer dramatischen Strukturierung, jedoch begann diese gut dargestellte cheesy Persönlichkeit des Mädchens, die gut gespielten Charaktere und die soliden Aktionen in diese Welt so sehr hineinzuziehen, dass ich nahezu einen zweiten Teil befürwortete. Es ist ein bisschen wie Underworld für Nerds und ein zu langer Pilotfilm zur Serie, welcher ab der zweiten Reihe anfangen könnte zu fungieren. (14.07.2020)

Ein bemerkenswertes und interessantes Sujet, doch der Film lässt elementare Frische leider vermissen. Hier hätte wohl der Schnitt Hand anlegen müssen, außerdem hätte es eines geschickten Drehbuchautors/Dramaturgen bedurft. Ewig lange philosophische Debatten in actiongeladenen Streifen verlieren sich. Das ist sehr schade. Zumindest habe ich für mich definitiv bestätigt, dass mir in jeder Rolle der belgische Bad Boy Schoenarts gefällt. (19.07.2020)

Quality screenwriters seem to be on strike in Hollywood these days. The good ones must be lazy – or indeed on strike – and the stupid ones are hyperactive and churn out bad scripts. Which are then turned into silly movies. (14.07.2020)

After Extraction, another big budget action movie with a big star. Unfortunately, this time behind the camera is not a former stuntman, but the director of the drama The Secret Life of Bees and the romance Love & Basketball. But enough, I'm not going to make fun of Gina Prince-Bythewood, she ironically deserves to be one of the few to be praised. At least a little. The action scenes aren't all bad, and while they lose out to today's cutting edge, they never turn into a confused mess. Otherwise, however, it's a dud. Although the plot revolves around a bunch of immortals who have been through the centuries, fought in various wars on every continent, and are depressed that all their loved ones have died, none of this is able to sell The Old Guard to the audience. And all the heartfelt outpourings about how they're alone in the world, immortality being a curse and all, get increasingly annoying as the runtime goes on, because there's not much else The Old Guard addresses. Sure, Charlize Theron is cool, and the rest of the team tries their best too, but it doesn't change the fact that more than any of the characters and their fate, I wondered when the curry on the stove would get finished. A minor league spectacle in every way. (13.07.2020)

With cinemas closed, at least Netflix is spoiling us with higher-budget movies, even if it’s not great, in the current drought is it at least fine entertainment. Charlize Theron leads a group of immortal soldiers who have lived for centuries, but are now threatened with discovery and must do whatever it takes to preserve their identities. The film has pretty decent action, which though not as good as Extraction or 6 Underground, is pretty bloody and a few shots are memorable. There's a twist and the actors do their best. Some might be bothered by the fact that the film is very gender correct and not very clever, but that doesn't bother me that much. The only thing that bothered me was that the flashbacks didn't get more space, as if the film had been set during the Crusades or the time of the witch hunts, the rating would have been very different. I wouldn't mind a sequel. Story***, Action***, Humor>No, Violence***, Entertainment****, Music***, Visual****, Atmosphere***, Suspense***. 6/10. (16.07.2020)

Greg Rucka just reels off stories like this, one after the other. The Old Guard has excellent subject matter. The idea has potential, but the product doesn’t fully realize it. The action is fairly solid, but the music-video-style visuals are disappointing and the R&B soundtrack kills every other scene. Charlize looks great with an ax and, if they had focused more on the past, this could have turned out to be exceptionally good movie. As it stands, it is just a reasonably good TV movie that promises a more entertaining sequel. (11.07.2020)

Another wannabe action flick that trips over its own feet over and over again with a stupid script. The action has decently bloody gore and polished visuals that, while effective, are unfortunately too effective and therefore unrealistic and rather artificial. The screenplay is classically stupid like every other film like it, the film literally oozes with over-the-top racial, political, religious and sexual correctness, and the “trendy hits of today’s cinema” are just too much. Add to that the perpetually pissed off expression of the unlikeable Charlize Theron and a handful of supporting, supplementary actors just for show and we get a beautiful mistake that shouldn't have needed to be made in the first place and no one would have missed. Perhaps the best thing about the film is Dudley Dursey, whose presence can at least amuse while Harry Potter fans. (25.08.2020)

The trailers didn’t interest me much, and I was quite worried about the story. In the end, the film didn’t turn out very well, in my opinion. Sure, Charlize Theron physically prepared for her role again; I watched a few videos, and it’s clear she dedicated a lot of time to preparation, with choreography that looked decent. However, when the final product turns into an epileptic spectacle during action sequences due to the cameraman and editor, all that effort goes to waste. Truly, the action wasn’t impressive and was weak in every respect. Besides Charlize, there’s no real connection with the other characters; the supporting cast plays a role akin to a fifth wheel. Believe it or not, despite such criticism, the film had a few decent scenes with above-average potential. The main plot setup was well done, but as the film progressed towards its end, the number of questions grew, and the script became a sieve. I don’t even want a sequel; I can vividly imagine that no drastic changes would occur. And the first one simply isn’t good. That’s a FACT. I give it 43%. P.S. The film comes with one of the worst soundtracks in recent times, which further drags it down. (17.07.2020)