The Old Guard

The Old Guard is a Netflix action movie starring Charlize Theron. The movie follows a group of immortals who find themselves exposed by a CIA agent and pharmaceutical CEO. Before I go any further, there are some minor spoilers. Read at your own risk. The action is fun enough. But, what makes this movie work for me is the character interactions. These characters feel pretty damn human to me. Even the movie's villain has a decently understandable motivation. He wants to test the immortals to figure out how to create a medication that will lead to longer life. That said, his methods are what make him a villain. However, the immortals are my favorite characters. I genuinely buy the history these characters have, and I honestly love that they have an "I don't give a shit" attitude. This is especially true of Charlize Theron as Andy. I should also say that I appreciate that this movie still has some stakes. I won't any further than that. Having a film where the main protagonists are immortal can sometimes be tricky. But, it really does work in this movie. Overall, I found The Old Guard to be a genuinely fun watch. It has some good action, entertaining characters, and interesting lore that I really think lends this movie to a potential sequel. It isn't anything groundbreaking, but I don't think it set to be, or needed to be. If it looks or sounds interesting, give the movie a watch. 

7 / 10   

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End

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Wrong Turn 2: Dead End is a stand-alone direct-to-DVD sequel released in 2007. The movie follows a team of people trying to produce a reality tv show in the backwoods of West Virginia, but ultimately come across those mutant cannibals, who start picking them off. Like most slashers, this is a pretty simple plot. In this movie's case, I don't mind it. This movie was enjoyable enough. The characters aren't super deep, but they have just enough layers to them that I was kept invested. It's especially helpful when the first twenty minutes or so really had me worried. As the layers are actually pulled back a little bit, I actually started finding myself invested in several of them. The kills are a ton of fun. Because this movie was a direct-to-video release, it allowed them to go a little more all out with the gore. The acting isn't anything special, but the actors generally service the movie well enough. This movie doesn't really have a lot to it, and the final result for me is that I think that was all this movie really needed. I think I might prefer the first movie just a touch more, but I still thought this first sequel was a fun enough ride, and I do have to recommend the movie to slasher fans.

6 / 10