7/10/20 - The Old Guard (2020) - 5+/10

A pretty decent adaptation of an enjoyable comic which equates to Highlander: The Platoon. Though the split between action and plot is pretty even, as a fan of the comic, it felt flashier than I expected. The substance of the story is intact but it did not approach it as expansively or in-depth as I had hoped. It allows for the film to breath with martial indulgence, and works, but it could have been more.

It’s not to say that the adaptation wasn’t without its specific merit. Some nice additions in adapting from the comic, adding a couple strong elements that weren’t there originally. Having Theron in the lead also brought a gravitas.

But it lacked the melancholy and pathos of the book; the dark call for the end of it all. It also felt the need to aggrandize them and their actions, truly making them history’s superheroes. Though having them choose to do good and look for meaning within the book felt more satisfying instead of having it handed to them in a metaphysical and mythological sense. I also did not care for the out of place pop music soundtrack. It distracted and devalued, when a truly classical and ancient tone would have meant much more.

Solid action choreography and decent set pieces pepper the film with its engaging premise, but I felt it took the shortcuts to the generic when it could have been adult and special.