The Old Guard (Gina Prince-Bythewood, 2020)

I never would have heard of this actioner if it weren't for dozens of Tumblr posts gushing over the romance between Joe (Marwan Kenzari) and Nicky (Luca Marinelli), two of the titular Guard. If anything was going to get me to watch another high-body-count movie so soon after the John Wick series, it's two tough guys in love with one another. Turns out it has way more to recommend it. Instead of focusing on one indestructible hero, The Old Guard concerns a posse of immortal (or are they...?) killing machines, some centuries old, tasked with various peacekeeping missions throughout history. It'd be refreshing if they were rabid auteurists, conquering film/disc/bibliographies instead of slaughtering faceless bad guys. But the group evince genuine affection for one another, a rare quality in this genre. And there's a story point (no spoilers) that rivals A.I.: Artificial Intelligence in its intimations of a cruel eternity. Color me impressed.

 Grade: B+