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| If only they had called it the "Right Guard". Just for my own personal amusement because I am 12. |
When I first heard that this movie was being adapted from the comic series of the same name, I was excited. Then I promptly forgot all about it until Netflix alerted me to it. It was more because life got in the way than anything else.
Needless to say, this movie is pretty great. Is it faithful to the comics on which it is based? I don't know. I read the series when it came out in 2017. For me, that is a long time in comic book years. I remember broad strokes at best. However, I do know that I liked it and I am a huge Greg Rucka fan. If nothing else, I'm glad he was able to get another one of his properties adapted into film. The TV show, Stumptown is another one of his properties. I'll give my thoughts on that show at a later time.
Anyway, the movie. It stars Charlize Theron. I love her transition into action star over the past few years. She's very good at it. This movie is no exception. She has the steely glare of a person that has seen it all and done it all in this movie. You sympathize with her because she really wants to be done with everything and each time it isn't, she's full of disappointment. Why does she feel this way? We'll get to that in my brief plot summary.
I won't dwell on the rest of the cast, but they are all very good. I do want to mention that the delightful Chiwetel Ejiofor is also in this movie. So I did not feel any weaknesses in the cast.
To quickly summarize, what I liked about this movie and the books is the backstory. Here you have a couple of near immortals and the toll that being alive for hundreds or thousands of years has taken on them. I've always thought that I would not want the power of immortality. I think you would go mad if you can never actually die. Here, this group of mercenaries work to slowly change the world while also hoping for death. I think it is less altruistic than that, but the movie tackles that a little. You get a sense of their loneliness because they are the only ones of their kind. They don't know why they exist and how things will end for them. Since this is a two hour movie, you can't dwell on it as much as you want, but I think they are effective at conveying it. RE: my comments about Charlize up above. Also, I think they effectively set up what could be a sequel. For now, they discover a new person who is also one of the immortals, so we get to see some of the world through her eyes. As always with these kind of movies, an evil company wants to learn their secrets and monetize that. So there you go, I summed up the plot basically.
I think where this movie shines is that the action scenes are really good. One of the things I am a sucker for is tag team moves. There are a couple of those in here. There are just some really cool moves in general. I definitely had a few, "Oh SHIT" moments, so that is a good thing. I thought the fight choreography was pretty good. When I say pretty good, I mean, for an American movie. Let's be honest, if you watch any martial arts films, this is not that, nor is it trying to be.
I didn't know this until afterwards, but this movie is well funded. You can tell that by the set pieces, the way it's filmed, etc. This could have easily been a theatrical release, but I think having it on Netflix is the better move and ensure that more eyes will see it. It is a small action movie and it would have drowned in the noise of a box office summer. I was honestly hoping this would be a series so you can delve into it, but I think Theron is still too high profile for something like that.
Given the times we are living in and being at home more, I would absolutely say to watch this movie. You get to see a bad ass female kicking ass.
