“Highlander” vs. “The Old Guard” — Generational Takes on Immortality

Photo by Krys Amon on Unsplash

I’ve heard a lot about the Netflix original movie The Old Guard. Released in 2020, it tells the tale of a group of immortal mercenaries (with, of course, appropriate hearts of gold).

The Old Guard is a romp. It’s a fun trope-fest with some absolutely fantastic fight coordination. Although be aware that it is also a hyper violent movie with a high body count. (The fight choreography is amazing, though).

Kiki Layne as Nile takes the entire thing, outshining Theron (Theron is a good actor, but I would rather have had the Eternal Warrior be a little less white). Layne’s relatively light filmography is undeserved…this woman needs work. Give this woman work.

The sequel was announced in January and the script is now complete.

Before even watching it, though, I had this movie stashed away in my mind as: “This is how a Millennial would write Highlander.”

I was wrong, but I was also right.

There Can Be Only One

In 1986, Russell Mulcahy directed a little flick called Highlander. I was thirteen…the perfect age, in my mind, for it. And it had Sean Connery, my father’s favorite actor at the time, in it.