THE OLD GUARD 2. Recent rewatching of 1980s American action movies (don’t judge me — we all have demons) had reminded me how little we moviegoers once expected. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bulk (sub-Marvel on today’s market) and enough uninterrupted gunfire to become its own variety of white noise was enough for action movie fans to give wooden dialogue and nearly as wooden fight choreography a pass. We accepted the thinnest tissue of story and left character development off at a man’s choice of tank top. I will not approach the use of actresses in the pre-Terminator 2 era, except to say it was a willfully narrow approach that resulted in a similarly narrow audience.
There was fun to be had with impossible gore and goofily morbid quips, but from our current vantage point — one where we get Oscar winners in meticulously and imaginatively choreographed set pieces — it was, like the hammer of a machine gun, repetitive and numbing. Oh, I still like a fight-forward, plot-light popcorn pairing now and again, especially if it hockey-stops on the credits in under 90 minutes. But a girl needs variety, in form, cast and story. The Old Guard 2 continues to demonstrate growth in the genre from each of those angles and promises us more with a likely excruciating wait.
Director Gina Prince-Blythewood’s The Old Guard (2020) is an imminently re-watchable example of an expansion of the action movie genre by way of depth. The premise, a handful of immortals (not impervious, just reviving after each painful death) doing battle century after century, now under attack in the present day, is enriched by, well, old souls. Their leader Andy (Charlize Theron) has spent her millennia wielding a circular ax, sampling the varied baklava of the Mediterranean and, in the last half century, grieving the loss of her immortal bestie/other half Quynh (Veronica Ngo), buried at sea to drown and revive over and over for eternity. Her team includes Booker, a Frenchman from the Napoleonic wars upon whom the mantle of immortality doesn’t sit well, and Nicky and Joe (Luca Marinelli, Marwan Kenzari), lovers who met on opposite sides of the Crusades. Newly minted immortal Nile (Kiki Layne), a young Black Marine, joins their ranks and, eventually, their cause. Their burdens and dynamics add tension and weight to the escalating action, in which even their fight choreography — with swords, guns, knives and hands — is invested with character and emotion.
Despite the final teaser, the story felt complete. And given the volatilities of movies produced by streaming platforms like Netflix, tomorrow and its sequels are never promised. But The Old Guard 2 arrived under the direction of Victoria Mahoney, whose work has mostly been in series — not a dismissal when the credits include the wild and gutting Lovecraft Country (2020). The original writing team of Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez added Sarah L. Walker and the original cast returned, with notable additions.
After 500 years, the iron coffin in which Quynh suffered endless waterboarding is hauled onto a boat and cracked open to reveal her alive but worse for wear. Her rescuer is not Andy but a shadowy figure in chic, globe-trotting togs and questionable white lady dreadlocks, a woman we later learn is Discord (Uma Thurman), first of the immortals. What she wants with the likely crazed Quynh is not immediately clear, but her peaked brow and knowing side eye don’t bode well. Meanwhile, Andy and her crew (minus the exiled Booker) are hunting their way up the arms dealer food chain when they become aware of Discord’s existence. Soon enough, it’s immortals everywhere as they are joined by Tuah (Henry Golding), a supernatural scholar in hiding, and discover the return of Quynh. Angry reunions and lore drops ensue.
It’s an outright joy to watch Theron and Ngo fight in a narrow alley and the camaraderie and warmth of the cast’s multi-directional chemistry makes for gentle respite between harrowing battles. Layne is excellent throughout and Thurman seems at home in her role as villain. (Why did we wait so long?) The ending’s stilted feel may be a symptom of its middle-child status in a trilogy. But it’s great fun and handles the breaking and reforming of bonds as thoughtfully as the breaking and reforming of bones. Both being miracles that don’t last forever. R. 107M. NETFLIX.
Jennifer Fumiko Cahill (she/her) is the managing editor at the Journal. Reach her at (707) 442-1400 ext. 106, or jennifer@northcoastjournal.com. Follow her on Bluesky @jfumikocahill.bsky.social.
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For showtimes call: Broadway Cinema (707) 443-3456; Mill Creek Cinema 839-3456; Minor Theatre (707) 822-3456.
This article appears in The Disappearing Registrants.
