I love Charlize Theron. There, I said it. She is a phenomenal actress and an even better human being. This love began when I first saw her in The Devil’s Advocate in 1997 and continued with her roles in Mighty Joe Young, The Italian Job, Monster and North Country, to name a few.
Charlize Theron is an advocate and humanitarian; she created The Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP) to support the fight against AIDS. She partnered with TOMS Shoes to create a unisex shoe made from vegan materials inspired by the African baobab tree, which were distributed to thousands of children. She was also named United Nations Messenger of Peace in 2008. She is involved in women’s rights organizations and is an active member of PETA.
Charlize Theron was recently in Netflix’s The Old Guard, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood and written by Greg Rucka, who also wrote the 2017 comic book of the same name. The film follows a team of immortal soldiers, led by Andromache “Andy” of Scythia, played by Theron, as they fight to keep their existence a secret from immoral, probing scientist working for a large pharmaceutical corporation, looking for the next great “cure” to sell to the masses.
Spoilers Ahead!
When watching The Old Guard, I got major Mad Max meets Assassin’s Creed vibes. The film opens in the deserts of the middle east and at one point we find Theron, sporting a rebel without a cause haircut, driving a military style truck in an attempt to evade the military with a new immortal recruit. This evokes flashbacks to a majority of the recent Mad Max: Fury Road film where Furiosa, also played by Theron, races through a deserted wasteland seeking safe passage for herself and the five wives of the oppressive Immortan Joe. The fighting style and weapon choices also reminded me of Assassin’s Creed, as the basic premise consists of warriors from another era fighting to prevent war.
I was particularly impressed with the diversity of the film; choosing two strong, independent women as leads, one being of color and showing the relationship of two gay men who had been in love, fighting side by side, for centuries.
Probably the best part of the movie was watching Charlize Theron kick ass. Theron has revealed that she does many of her own stunts; this made it even better to watch the hand to hand combat in many of the scenes as she dominated her opponents. Watching her fight is like watching a ballerina dancing; she uses her long legs and lean form to gracefully overpower her enemies in an almost beautiful ballet. Similar to the fighting sequences in both Mad Max: Fury Road and Atomic Blonde, The Old Guard brings intense, raw combat scenes that both intrigue and empower the audience.
Overall I would recommend this movie to anyone who loves to watch a badass woman kicking ass and taking names.
