Old Guard

Old Guard 1-5

A very solid concept (good guy mercenary warriors who never die) that’s expertly executed by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez.  Some great action and a surprising amount of emotion keeps this at a high level of quality from start to finish.

Plus, it’s the source material for an even better movie.  The silent communication and perfectly coordinated movements of the team make for one of my favorite action scenes ever:

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Good

Old Guard: Force Multiplied 1-5

An old companion of Andy’s comes back to exact some revenge.  To be fair, drowning in the ocean for countless years would drive anyone mad.  

The ending makes no sense to me; the team finds out that Andy used to sell her vanquished enemies as slaves.  And by “used to,” I mean literal millenia ago.  And somehow that’s enough for them to dump her as a teammate.  Which drives her into the waiting, open arms of Noriko, who’d spent the last five issues trying to punish them all.  Sure, whatever.

Regret buying: No

Would buy again: Yes

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Pretty good

Old Guard: Tales Through Time 1-6

A complete waste of money; Six issues, twelve stories, and not a single one that doesn’t feel like filler.  This is a really talented list of writers (including Rucka, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction, and Jason Aaron), but none of them are able to bring anything that feels substantial to the table.  It’s really quite remarkable.  

Regret buying: Yes

Would buy again: No

Would read again: Yes

Rating: Didn’t suck

Movies

Quick thoughts on a bunch of movies that I’ve recently watched.  (Lots of time at three in the morning while the baby isn’t sleeping…)

Old Guard

The rare adaptation that’s better than the source material (I went back and reread the series by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez just to be sure).  The actors bring so much soul to their characters, adding a heft that I didn’t get in the comic.  Noriko’s drowning is legit one of the most painful, difficult things I’ve watched in quite some time. 

The scene where the team efficiently works their way through the tower made my heart sing, the smoothness and silent communication between the members is a beautiful piece of action choreography.  

This movie made me go back and order the Force Multiplied trade, even though I initially dropped it after the first issue.  I want to see where the (hopefully) next movie’s going to go.

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: Yes

Would buy on DVD: Yes

Rating: Good

Triple Threat

This should have been a no-brainer smash hit - Tony Jaa (Ong-Bak), Iko Uwais (The Raid), Tiger Chen (Man of Tai Chi), and Scott Adkins (everything direct to video) all in the same martial arts film.  I went into this super excited.

I came out underwhelmed - No memorable fight scenes, too much talking, and too much gun play.  This should have been one of the greats.

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: No

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Didn’t suck

Knock Down the House

AOC!  Now I want a documentary of her time in Congress.  I love her.

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: Yes

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Pretty good

Furie

This was billed as Taken with Veronica Ngo (Rose’s sister in Last Jedi and Noriko in Old Guard).  That’s exactly what I got, but despite some nifty action, it left me completely cold.  I think it’s because despite her impressive fighting skills, the mom is far more desperate and grasping at random straws than the awe-inspiring competency of Liam Neeson, and I wasn’t in the mood to watch that.  

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: No

Would buy on DVD: No

Rating: Didn’t suck

Palm Springs

Awesome awesome awesome.  I was sold when I heard “Groundhog Day with Andy Samberg,” and this still exceeded my expectations.  Samberg and Cristin Milioti are a great on screen pair, and I couldn’t be happier with this film

Regret watching: No

Would watch again: Yes

Would buy on DVD: Yes

Rating: Really Good