The Old Guard 2 – Movie Review

TL;DR – This is a film filled with these fascinating moments as they span the globe, only to be followed by what can only be described as a dour slog.  

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

Charlize Theron staring into a mirror.

The Old Guard 2 Review

When I saw that The Old Guard 2 launched tonight, I was immediately interested. That was until I tried to remember anything about the first film and came up blank, which reminded me that The Old Guard came out in 2020, just shy of five years ago. Given it was such a large gap between outings, I wondered if this would have any connection for me or others. So, I sat down, got out some cheese, a nice glass, and found out.   

So, to set the scene, we open in Split, Croatia, where the immortal crew of Andy (Charlize Theron), Nile (KiKi Layne), Nicky (Luca Marinelli), Joe (Marwan Kenzari), and James (Chiwetel Ejiofor) infiltrate the compound of Konrad (Slavko Sobin), a very unpleasant arms smuggler and collector of the tackiest art know to humankind. It might be all fun and games, bar the fact that James is very mortal, and now so is Andy or as she was once known, Andromache of Scythia. They are on the hunt for who is buying up all this artillery, a mysterious woman that Nile has seen in her dreams. The only problem is that no one knows that Quỳnh (Veronica Ngô), a woman from Andy’s past, is back and might be hunting them down, one by one. But being trapped underwater, constantly drowning for 500 years, might have an impact on your mood.

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The Eight Mountains (Le Otto Montagne) – Movie Review

TL;DR – A profound exploration of a deep plutonic friendship that lasts through the ages.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

The Sun rising over a mountain top.

The Eight Mountains Review

Cinema has a long history of being able to chart romantic or sexual relationships. Indeed, we have entire genres dedicated to their exploration. But what we don’t see engaged with as often is close platonic relationships. Which is odd because everyone has them, but rarely do they become the focus of a film. Well, today, we explore a film that cuts to the heart of just such a relationship as two wayward souls crash into each other and spin apart.

So to set the scene, Pietro’s (Lupo Barbiero) family decided to get out of the clawing bustle of Turin in the summer and escape into the mountains. They picked a town almost abandoned by people leaving to find work to rent a house, which is where he meets Bruno (Cristiano Sassella). It would have been hard for them to miss each other as Bruno was the last child left in the village, but they soon became inseparable. But Pietro is just there for the summer, and Bruno is there for life, which sets them on two very different paths.

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Movie Review – The Old Guard

TL;DR – A solid action flick, with an interesting premise, that lands from start to finish.     

Score – 3.5 out of 5 stars

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene

Awards

Nominated: Fascinating Worldbuilding.

The Old Guard. Image Credit: Netflix.

Review – I think it is no surprise that I like a good action film. Add an exciting premise, and compelling characters and I am there for the ride. Well, I have not seen a compelling action film since I went into lockdown, but I am glad to say this all changes today.

So to set the scene, we open in on Marrakesh, Morocco where a lady called Andy (Charlize Theron) walks through the market, stalked by someone on a motorcycle. Thankfully, it is was an old friend Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), who is here with the rest of the team with a proposition. A former CIA contact Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) needs some help, a group of school girls have were kidnapped in Juba, South Sudan and no one else can help but her and her team. In a surgical strike, they take out the camp where the girls are kept only to find it was all a setup. Gunned down in a hail of bullets, this should be the end, but moments later they wake up and catch the would-be murders in a storm of their own. At the same moment in Afghanistan, a marine Nile (KiKi Layne) is leading a search for a bomb maker when she is stabbed only to wake up without a scratch.  

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