The Old Guard (film)

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Movie
German title The Old Guard
Original title The Old Guard
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2020
length 125 minutes
Rod
Director Gina Prince-Bythewood
script Greg Rucka
production AJ Dix ,
David Ellison ,
Marc Evans ,
Beth Kono ,
Charlize Theron
music Volker Bertelmann ,
Dustin O'Halloran
camera Barry Ackroyd ,
Tami Reiker
cut Terilyn A. Shropshire
occupation
synchronization

The Old Guard is a fantasy action film directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood that was inducted into Netflix 's programming on July 10, 2020 . The film is based on a graphic novel series of the same name by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández.

action

The "old guard", a mercenary troop of immortals, is led by a warrior named Andy. The members of the small troop lived and fought in different historical epochs of contemporary history, until every single member of them discovered after death that they had special self-healing powers. Andy, the Eldest of the Immortals, fought thousands of years ago as the Andromache of Scythia . Joe and Nicky, who died during one of the crusades, joined her and have been not just brothers in arms but lovers for many centuries. Sebastian called Booker was killed fighting for Napoleon . Together the immortals fight for the good in the world, which has welded them together into a kind of family over the centuries.

When, against Andy's initial hesitation, they take on a humanitarian liberation mission in South Sudan, they are lured into a trap by their clients and can only get out of the situation through their extreme martial arts. What they don't know: The unscrupulous billionaire and pharmaceutical entrepreneur Merrick wants to take control of the troops in order to find out the secret of their immortality and exploit it for his product development.

After a Taliban leader slit the throat of US soldier Nile Freeman during the war in Afghanistan, but she woke up from the dead the next day and has completely recovered, she joins the team as the first new member of the Immortals in 200 years recorded. Shortly afterwards, Merrick's mercenaries manage to capture Joe and Nicky.

Now Andy and the new team member Nile must try whatever means necessary to prevent their power from being replicated in order to make money.

production

Original, staff and cast

The film is based on the graphic novel series The Old Guard by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernández, which was released in February 2017. Rucka also adapted the template for the film. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood . The Old Guard is planned as the prelude to a film trilogy should the film be successful.

Charlize Theron took on the role of Andromache of Scythia called Andy, the oldest member of the guard and its leader. The Tunisian-Dutch actor Marwan Kenzari and the Italian actor Luca Marinelli can be seen in the roles of Joe and Nicky, who have been a couple for centuries. Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts plays Booker, who once fought for Napoleon in the war. KiKi Layne took over the role of the US soldier Nile Freeman, who was last added to the team. The villain Merrick, who runs a pharmaceutical company, is played by Harry Melling , while Chiwetel Ejiofor plays his middleman Copley. The Vietnamese actress Van Veronica Ngo can be seen in the role of Quynh, once Andy's companion over many epochs, who was captured in the course of the witch hunts in the Middle Ages and thrown into the sea, trapped in a metal coffin.

Filming and film music

While filming in Bourne Woods, Farnham

Filming took place in Spring / Summer 2019 at Shepperton Studios in Surrey, other locations in the UK and Morocco , which served as a backdrop in Afghanistan and South Sudan . The cameramen were Barry Ackroyd , who received an Oscar nomination in 2010 for his work on The Hurt Locker , and Tami Reiker , who has worked mostly in television in recent years.

The film music was composed by Volker Bertelmann and Dustin O'Halloran . The soundtrack album, which comprises a total of 24 pieces of music, was released for download on July 10, 2020 by Lakeshore Records.

Marketing and Publishing

A first trailer was presented in May 2020. On July 10, 2020, the film was included in the Netflix program.

reception

Age rating

In the USA, the film received an R rating from the MPAA , which corresponds to a rating of 17 and over, and is recommended by Netflix in Germany from 16 years of age.

Reviews and calls

The film was rated positively by 81 percent of all Rotten Tomatoes critics. Again and again, the choreography of the fighting and action scenes was positively emphasized, which made the members of the guard appear like a long-established team.

Especially when the entire team fights together, this is an absolute blast, says Joshua Yehl from IGN : "You are like a well-oiled machine - a nice detail that shows what a few hundred years of teamwork can achieve." Over the years, Joe and Nicky have been the openly gay couple that have given history an incredible amount of warmth and humanity. According to Yehl, the fact that these immortal mercenaries use bladed weapons from their original time together with modern firearms gives the action scenes an additional flair.

Karsten Munt from Filmdienst remarks in his review that The Old Guard negotiates many of the existential questions in somewhat awkward dialogues, but always manages to find images that capture the suffering that has accumulated over the millennia: “Images that force the viewer into question how many of the deaths Andy and her companions suffered were suicides. Memories like those of the companion's repeated death weigh like a curse on the immortal. On the other hand, on the blessing side, there is often only the ability to survive the fight for good, at least physically unharmed. "

Bilge Ebiri notes in Vulture that Gina Prince-Bythewood , who used to be best known for her romantic films Love & Basketball and Beyond the Lights , doesn't seem to be the first choice for a comic book adaptation about a group of immortal superheroes You can see what an inspired choice she is in just a few minutes. What made Love & Basketball and Beyond the Lights so special was not only the romance, but also Prince-Bythewood's patience when she watched her characters with the camera without immediately leading them to an emotional climax. This kind of intimacy is of course useful in telling a love story, but when you apply it to comics and superheroes, a different kind of alchemy emerges: "A supernatural action fantasy is starting to feel heartbreakingly real." The Old Guard's plot is not particularly new, you can empathize with it. These characters felt like they'd really known each other for centuries, with all the complexity, bitterness, and loyalty you'd expect, and that's how the fight scenes were creatively choreographed, according to Ebiri. That the film never has to rely on quick cuts to cover up bad action is an added blessing.

In the week after the film started, it was one of the top spots in the Netflix top 10 most watched content every day. This makes The Old Guard one of the ten most watched Netflix films of all time, as the streaming service itself announced via Twitter.

synchronization

The German synchronization was based on a dialogue book and the dialogue direction by Heike Kospach on behalf of Berliner Synchron GmbH Wenzel Lüdecke.

actor Voice actor role
Charlize Theron Bianca Krahl Andromache of Scythia / Andy
Matthias Schoenaerts Patrick Winczewski Sebastian Le Livre / Booker
Marwan Kenzari Asad Black Yusuf Al-Kaysani / Joe
Chiwetel Ejiofor Torben Liebrecht Copley
Anamaria Marinca Carmen Katt Dr. Meta Kozak
Joey Ansah Kevin Kraus Keane
Harry Melling Constantin von Jascheroff Merrick
Kiki Layne Lea Kalbhenn Nile Freeman
Veronica Ngo Christina Wöllner Quynh

The Italian actor Luca Marinelli dubbed his role "Nicolo di Genova / Nicky" in the German language himself.

literature

Web links

Commons : The Old Guard  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Owen Gleiberman: Charlize Theron in 'The Old Guard' on Netflix: Film Review. In: Variety, July 3, 2020.
  2. ↑ a b c d Karsten Munt: The Old Guard. In: Filmdienst. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  3. ↑ Kate Erbland: 'The Old Guard' Review: Gina Prince-Bythewood Delivers Netflix's Best 2020 Action Movie. In: indiewire.com, July 3, 2020.
  4. ↑ Hannes Koenitzer: The Old Guard: First pictures from the action fantasy film with Charlize Theron. In: robots-and-dragons.de, May 8, 2020.
  5. ↑ a b c Joshua Yehl: Netflix's The Old Guard Review. In: ign.com, July 6, 2020.
  6. ↑ Ian Sandwell and Shyvonne Thomas: Netflix's The Old Guard is planned as the start of a trilogy. In: digitalspy.com, July 3, 2020.
  7. ↑ https://www.theknowledgeonline.com/the-knowledge-bulletin/post/2019/02/28/the-old-guard-prepping-uk-filming
  8. ↑ Chris Evans: Morocco: Dune location manager Christian McWilliams on "Hollywood's backlot". In: kftv.com, February 4, 2020.
  9. ↑ 'The Old Guard' soundtrack details. In: filmmusicreporter.com, June 25, 2020.
  10. ↑ Hannes Koenitzer: The Old Guard: Netflix publishes the first trailer for the upcoming action film. In: robots-and-dragons.de, May 22, 2020.
  11. ↑ Julius Vietzen: “Highlander” meets “The Expendables”: First pictures of the upcoming Netflix blockbuster “The Old Guard”. In: filmstarts.de, May 7, 2020.
  12. ^ The Old Guard. In: kids-in-mind.com. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  13. ^ The Old Guard. In: netflix.com. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  14. ^ The Old Guard. In: Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  15. ↑ https://weliveentertainment.com/welivefilm/old-guard-review-ashley-menzel/
  16. ^ A b Bilge Ebiri: Netflix's The Old Guard Is Breathtaking. In: Vulture, July 7, 2020.
  17. ↑ Markus Trutt: "The Old Guard" on record course: now one of the most watched Netflix films of all time. In: filmstarts.de, July 18, 2020.
  18. ^ German dubbing index: Film "The Old Guard (2020) in the German dubbing index In: synchronkartei.de, August 24, 2020.