tin

is this,,, is this anything,,

Idk write who's pov this😭

Like... Yusuf is the comedic relief in so many scenes. In a lesser action movie that would have been the entirety of his character except! He's flirty with Nicky at the dinner scene, then his romantic side gets the spotlight in the van (iconic, but somehow managed to surprise me as if I'd never watched the movie*). His anger towards Booker and his protectiveness of Nicky are elevated so much by Marwan's performance. Another thing I noticed is that his relationship with Booker is explained with very little details: you have them watching football together, the iconic looking back at each other when they leave Booker behind... and that's mostly it.

There's a clear divide between Joe&Nicky and Andy&Booker. Andy and Booker are very close, they get each other. They think they're similar and consider the other the one person in the group that shares their worldview, they're two assholes doing this shit together. They're the second emotional heart of the movie, after Nile&Andy. Andy and Booker are also the two who lost and failed their family/partners, while Joe and Nicky 'always had each other'. Andy doesn't fault J&N for this, while Booker expresses his bitterness when they're held captive in the lab. It's interesting how Booker is clearly the computer guy, the 'brains of the operation' as Nile says, he is Andy's right hand man, yet this has been a bit lost in fanfictions, which maybe give Joe or Nicky a more prominent role (or maybe not and this consideration comes from my limited experience with tog fics).

Nicky is the morals character. He is empathetic, talks a lot**, he is the one who hasn't lost the answers to their immortality the way Andy has. He is the one who reminds Andy that that's what they do, they fight as a team. I remember 2020 me dissecting his little smile in front of Copley's wall of madness, saying it was Nicky having a confirmation of something he wanted to believe in, and I think that interpretation is still acceptable. He is there to be the immortal who believes and I think that's beautiful. His conversation with Kozak always, always hits. Someone here once said Nicky is Rucka's perfect Italian boyfriend and it completely changed the way I look at him, it's so funny. He IS blorbo, thank you very much.

Nile and Andy have insane screen chemistry on that plane. My friend thought they were the queer couple everyone was obsessed about.

Booker's monologue in the cave is SO GOOD. He is -prepare yourself mentally for what I'm about to say- the most well-rounded character in the movie, together with Andy. Nile, J&N, they all have something going on, but Booker ? He has so much nuance, you suspect him at first, but then his bond with Andy and his kind attention towards Nile lull you in a false sense of security. His inability to track Copley is shady as fuck, but the way Andy trusts him completely fools both Nile and the viewer. The cave monologue is particularly good because it is the foil to the dinner, where the gang tried to explain stuff to Nile, this time going deeper in the gritty details of their immortality. Quỳnh's backstory is, of course, another pivotal moment, especially to explain Andy's character.

Andy is great. There's no way around it. Her eyes are ablaze sometimes, it gave me chills. You get these incredible moments where you suddenly see her alive, not the disillusioned person she's become, and it's so good. When she fights with Nile on the plane, when Nile stares at her in Goussainville after Andy has killed all the soldiers, you get glimpses of someone who is still, after all these years, alive. Andy's depression and disillusionment and pain, like during Quỳnh's scene, hit even harder for this.

Nile is wonderful. I think I remembered her character better than the others, she is a great character to follow as a viewer and Kiki is clearly giving her best shot at matching thee Charlize Theron's energy. She keeps surprising me for her humanity, every rewatch without fail. Her actions make so much sense, of course she wants to go home, of course she's horrified by the immortal's reality of killing and war forever. She's awed and terrified by Andy once she knows how old she is but before this revelation and by the end of the movie they have a more equal footing. Nile is Andy's foil more than her mentee, Andy is the one who learns the most from Nile. I love how Nile is protective of Andy when they're fighting at Merrick's hq, and their synergy made my heart go :

In conclusion, rewatch the old guard (2020). It's great.

*by this I mean that J&N are written in a very delicious way, in the sense there are soooo many details explaining the bond between them, but these are shown bit by bit as the story progresses. It's always fun to show TOG to someone new because before they're cuddling on the train, you don't know they're together. You see they are if you know beforeheand, but the movie doesn't go out of its way to show you, then bam! they're spooning. Then, dinner scene: they allude to their backstory. Nile dreams of Quỳnh: spooning again. AND THEN WHAT? A SHAKESPEARIAN MONOLOGUE WITH A STEEL CHAIR??? In a van??? It surprises you, it's in your face, it's sweet. Once we see J&N giggling while held captive, you already know they're just like that all the time. This is what Booker had to see for a century at least. They're soooo in love and this realisation makes the fight with Keane as compelling as it is. It's so well-structured!!!

When You Look at Dr. Grace