The Old Guard, The: Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Femme-Driven Action-Thriller, Starring the Indefatigable Charlize Theron and Rising Actress Kiki Layne

The Old Guard represents a step in the right direction for the gifted Gina Prince-Bythewood (and by extension other women directors of color) after making some more intimate but extremely effective films, such as Love & Basketball(her striking debut) and Beyond the Lights, which among other things, made a star out of the beautiful Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

The Netflix’s feature is at once an accomplished superhero actioner and a femme-themed feature that pays more greater attention to characterization, realistic context, and emotional involvement  than is the norm for such movies.

Yes, they can: As directed by an intelligent woman of color, The Old Guard represents a balanced blend of character-driven drama and visceral action, and as such should appeal to mainstream viewers.  

Credits:

Production: Skydance, Denver & Delilah Films, Marc Evans Production
Distributor: Netflix
Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Screenwriter: Greg Rucka, based on the graphic novel series by Rucka, illustrated by Leandro Fernández
Producers: David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Don Granger, Charlize Theron, A.J. Dix, Beth Kono, Marc Evans
Executive producers: Stan Wlodkowski, Greg Rucka
Directors of photography: Tami Reiker, Barry Ackroyd
Production designer: Paul Kirby
Costume designer: Mary Vogt
Music: Volker Bertelmann, Dustin O’Halloran
Editor: Terilyn A. Shropshire
Sound designers: Glenn Freemantle, Ben Barker
Visual effects supervisor: Sara Bennett
Casting: Lucy Bevan, Aisha Coley

Cast:

Charlize Theron, KiKi Layne, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Harry Melling, Van Veronica Ngo, Matthias Schoenaerts, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Anamaria Marinca, Joey Ansah

Rated R

Running time: 118 minutes