The Old Guard

The Old Guard is the rare action film that earns its emotional weight before its first fight. Charlize Theron leads a team of immortal mercenaries who have been fighting humanity’s battles for centuries, and the film’s exploration of what immortality actually costs — watching loved ones age and die, enduring centuries of loneliness, being captured and tortured for decades — gives the action genuine stakes despite the characters’ inability to permanently die. Theron’s fight choreography is excellent (she trained extensively after Atomic Blonde), the axe-and-sword work is creative, and Gina Prince-Bythewood’s direction prioritizes character over spectacle without sacrificing the action.