Based on the comic book series by Greg Rucka (who also wrote the screenplay), The Old Guard follows a small covert group of immortal mercenaries led by Andy (Theron), also known as Scythia. The story begins with Andy and her team—Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), Nile (Kiki Layne), Joe (Marwan Kenzari), and Nicky (Luca Marinelli)—taking on a mission to rescue a group of kidnapped children in Sudan. The twist? They keep dying and waking up.

However, a betrayal from a former CIA operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and a greedy pharma CEO (Harry Melling) traps them in a laboratory for testing. The team must fight not only for their freedom but to protect the secret of their immortality from being weaponized by capitalism. 1. Charlize Theron’s Physicality Following her iconic role in Mad Max: Fury Road , Theron delivers a masterclass in "weary action hero." Andy is over 6,000 years old. She has seen everyone she ever loved die. Theron plays this exhaustion perfectly, making the action feel less like a thrill and more like a repetitive chore—until new immortal Nile gives her a reason to care again.

The film features one of the most touching LGBTQ+ relationships in the superhero genre. Joe and Nicky, two immortals who were enemies during the Crusades before falling in love, have a monologue about finding your soulmate across centuries that is genuinely moving. It normalizes queer love without making it a tragedy or a punchline.