Charlize Theron Is an Immortal Warrior in “The Old Guard” Trailer

With movie theaters still closed (and re-opening in July seeming increasingly unwise), Netflix is dropping its biggest, noisiest original next month.

The Old Guard stars Charlize Theron as Andy, a leader of mercenaries who can heal from any wound and take down any foe with any weapon. (Why you would continually risk injury to murder people when you could just play the stock market is beyond me, but that wouldn't make for an exciting movie.) Her team, including Mathias Schoenerts (Red Sparrow), recruit a new member, played by KiKi Layne (If Beale Street Could Talk).

The film is based on a comic book series by Greg Rucka, who did some great runs on Batman. Gina Prince-Bythewood, best known for Love & Basketball, moves from well-regarded dramas to the world of big-budget action movies. There's a lot of great talent involved, but I'm getting serious Aeon Flux vibes from the trailer. Let's hope it's better than that.

The Old Guard premieres on Netflix on Friday, July 10.

About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.