The Old Guard Review

Synopsis
A covert team of immortal mercenaries are suddenly exposed and must now fight to keep their identity a secret just as an unexpected new member is discovered. (via IMDb)

Review
Charlize Theron has shown again and again that she can be a kick-ass action star and that continues in The Old Guard. Theron is the leader of the group and has the presence and attitude to back it up. Relative newcomer Kiki Layne, and the new immortal, held her own opposite Theron. This is the first film I have seen that stars Layne and I was impressed at her handling of the emotional moments as well as the action. Everyone did a good job in their roles but the two leading ladies stood out among them. It is obvious that a lot of work went into the action sequences. The stunt work looks fantastic! You can feel the impact of each punch and the way the action is framed is great. Maybe it’s just me being selfish but I would have liked to see a few more action scenes thrown in throughout the movie.

Despite the characters being immortal, which can often lead to flat characters when it does not feel like there are any risks for them, every character in The Old Guard feels well fleshed out. They each receive a good amount of screen time and backstory. The film also does a good job of adding stakes to the film regardless of the main characters’ immortality. The biggest downside to this film is the main villain. He doesn’t make a splash until over halfway through the runtime and he comes off as very generic and somewhat cartoonish. There are shifting motivations from other characters to keep the film interesting but the big bad ultimately falls short.

I thought The Old Guard was GOOD 🙂 Overall it feels like your fairly generic action flick but the exciting and well shot action scenes, good acting, and a surprising amount of character depth makes the time spent worth while, stumbling only when the main villain becomes more prominent. The ending leaves open the possibility for a sequel and since this is based on a comic book series, I’m sure the material is there for a follow-up. I wouldn’t be opposed to visiting this world of these immortals again.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Gina Prince-Bythewood – Director
Greg Rucka – Writer
Volker Bertelmann – Composer
Dustin O’Halloran – Composer

Charlize Theron – Andy
Kiki Layne – Nile
Matthias Schoenaerts – Booker
Marwan Kenzari – Joe
Luca Marinelli – Nicky
Chiwetel Ejiofor – Copley
Harry Melling – Merrick
Van Veronica Ngo – Quynh
Anamaria Marinca – Dr. Meta Kozak
Joe Ansah – Keane

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga Review

The deadline for submitting entries for this year’s Christmas in July Blogathon is fast approaching! There are still several spots left for the blogathon and if you’re interested in joining in, check out this post.

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Synopsis
Lars (Will Farrell) and Sigrit (Rachel McAdams), better known as the Icelandic singing duo Fire Saga, are given the opportunity to represent their country of Iceland at Eurovision.

Review
After my experience paying full price for the rental of You Should Have Left, I am skeptical of paying for on-demand film releases. Thankfully, Netflix is still releasing films on its streaming service and their latest release, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, came at the perfect time for me. Written by Will Ferrell and Andrew Steele, this movie is cut from the same cloth as Ferrell’s similar films like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Blades of Glory. So if you aren’t a fan of Ferrell then this might not be the movie for you. For me, I do like Ferrell’s films and his brand of humor so I did enjoy this movie.

The core of Eurovision Song Contest is a feel-good story focused around the characters Lars (Ferrell) and Sigrit (Rachel McAdams), who are very easy to get behind and root for. From a story perspective, it hits all the beats you would expect but that doesn’t mean it also isn’t enjoyable. Rachel McAdams is an absolute sweetheart and a great actress to carry the story since, in my opinion, her character’s arc is more interesting than Ferrell’s character’s. However, the stand out performance is easily Dan Stevens as Alexander Lemtov, the singer representing Russia at the song competition. He serves as a foil for Lars and a love interest for Sigrit. Stevens is clearly having a good time on screen and that in turn makes the film more enjoyable for the audience.

I thought Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga was GOOD 🙂 It’s a pretty generic film and I contemplated giving it a lower score but honestly, I’m a sucker for feel-good stories (and Rachel McAdams). Maybe I would have gotten more out of it if I was more familiar with Eurovision but I will admit that I had fun watching this. The songs written for the film are also good and catchy, nothing like the soundtrack of The High Note, but like the rest of the film, they are still fun. A lot of your opinion of this film is going to fall on your opinion of Will Ferrell and his other films; It is exactly what you expect from a Ferrell movie. It’s not the best movie out there but it is a good holdover movie while we wait for theaters to reopen.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
David Dobkin – Director
Will Ferrell – Writer
Andrew Steele – Writer
Atli Orvarsson – Composer

Will Ferrell – Lars Erickssong
Rachel McAdams – Sigrit Ericksdottir
Pierce Brosnan – Erick Erickssong
Dan Stevens – Alexander Lemtov
Melissanthi Mahut – Mita Xenakis
Mikael Persbrandt – Victor Karlosson
Ólafur Darri Ólafsson – Neils Brongus
Graham Norton – Himself