By Susan Granger
Special to WestportNow
Since the usual superheroes abandoned theaters this summer, Netflix supplies new super soldiers in “The Old Guard.” They’re an elite band of indestructible warriors led by axe-wielding Andromache of Scythia (Charlize Theron).
Andy, as she’s called, has been covertly battling the world’s evil for centuries — and she’s weary. But when she realizes that Nile (KiKi Layne), a gung-ho U.S. Marine, miraculously survived having her throat cut by a terrorist in Afghanistan, Andy convinces her to join the immortal crime-fighters.
There’s Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars, along with Joe (Marwan Kanzan) and Nicky (Luca Marinelli), who were combatants during the Crusades. Over the centuries, they’ve developed various battle strategies that they can instantly implement.
“Throughout history, we’ve protected the world, fighting in the shadows,” Andy explains.
Their current nemesis is Merrick (Henry Melling), a mad-scientist who is determined to capture and experiment on the ageless mutants to profit from the production of Fountain of Youth drugs. Merrick’s aided and abetted by ex-C.I.A. agent Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who has been tracking them for years.
Working from a timely script by Greg Rucka, based on his graphic novel series, it’s helmed by Gina Prince-Blythewood (“Love & Basketball,” “Beyond the Lights”), the first Black woman to direct a high-profile superhero film. Amplifying the diversity, she includes one of the most romantic expressions of LGBTQ love ever printed in a comic book.
When Joe is asked if Nicky is his boyfriend, he declares: “This man is more to me than you can imagine. He’s the moon when I’m lost in darkness and warmth when I shiver in cold. His kiss still thrills me even after a millennium. His heart overflows with a kindness of which the world is not worthy. I love this man beyond measure and reason. His is not my boyfriend. He is all, and he is more.”
And the conclusion, involving Quynh (Van Veronica Ngo), another female warrior, definitely sets up a sequel.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Old Guard” is an edgy, exciting 7, filled with intense, action-packed skirmishes.
Set in February, 1942, “Greyhound” is a World War II saga revolving around U.S. Naval Cmdr. Ernest Krause (Tom Hanks) whose first command position is aboard the USS Keeling, leading a convoy of 37 Allied ships across the treacherous North Atlantic to Liverpool, England.
A brief prologue reveals Krause exchanging Christmas gifts with his adored Evie (Elisabeth Shue) in a San Francisco hotel lobby. When she turns down his marriage proposal, he vows to wait for her for as long as it takes.
Then it’s off to war on the high seas, as Krause’s destroyer — code-named Greyhound — is doggedly pursued by German U-Boats (submarines), launching deadly torpedoes.
Since American planes could guard the convoy only up to a certain point in the Atlantic, they’re completely unprotected for a treacherous five-day stretch — known as the “black pit” — before British planes can offer air cover on the other end.
The “Battle of the Atlantic” was a continuous campaign from 1939-1945, chronicling the movement of troops and supplies across the Atlantic Ocean; 3,500 cargo ships were sunk and 72,200 “souls” died.
Based on C.S. Forester’s “The good Shepherd” (1955), it’s adapted by Tom Hanks and tautly directed by Aaron Schneider, who opts for narrative realism over emotional involvement.
As pious, empathetic Commander Krause, Tom Hanks carries the entire film since other characters — like the loyal navigator Charlie Cole (Stephen Graham) and the conscientious African American chef George Cleveland (Rob Morgan) — are barely delineated.
During Greyhound’s aggressive and defensive maneuvers, there’s lots of detailed naval jargon. For example, “Huff-Duff” refers to high-frequency direction-finding, which is how the Allies used radio traffic to track German U-Boats in order to attack them.
The Germans periodically broadcast taunting messages, like: “Did you think you’d slipped away from this gray wolf? You and your comrades will die today.”
On the Granger Gauge, “Greyhound” is a seriously stressful 6, profiling stoic resilience under pressure, streaming on Apple+.
Having been in quarantine for so many weeks, it’s easy to empathize with the cast and crew of “7500,” taut thriller streaming on Amazon Prime, set almost entirely in the cramped cockpit of an Airbus A319.
As viewed through ominous security footage, it begins in Berlin Airport as travelers check in for an evening flight to Paris. There’s a slight delay as two passengers who checked luggage are late to board.
Experienced German Captain Michael Lutzmann (former Lufthansa pilot-turned-actor Carlo Kitzlinger) and his bespectacled American co-pilot Tobias Ellis (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) go through the routine preflight checks, while a flight attendant, Gokee (Aylin Tezel), who turns out to be Tobias’ fiancee/mother of their young son, takes their dinner orders.
Shortly after takeoff, as the plane reaches cruising altitude and the Fasten Seatbelt sign goes off, there’s thumping on the cockpit door. Islamist extremists are trying to take over control of the plane.
Armed with broken glass, wrapped in duct tape as improvised knives, their leader Kenan (Muruthan Muslu) pushes his way in, incapacitating Michael and severely wounding Tobias’ left arm. Once Kenan is subdued, Tobias radios ahead, arranging for an emergency landing in Hannover while watching a tiny black-and-white, closed-circuit monitor that shows what’s happening just beyond the cockpit door.
As the Muslim terrorists begin to threaten hostages, Kenan’s teenage accomplice, Vedat (Omid Memar), manages to get inside the cramped cockpit, where mild-mannered Tobias, sensing Vedat’s queasy vulnerability, tries to engage him in conversation.
Co-written with Senad Halilbasic and directed by Germany’s Patrick Vollrath, it’s frightening, filled with well-paced, stomach-churning tension. Cinematographer Sebastian Thaler and production designer Thorsten Sabel create gruesome believability; the grim realism is further enhanced by the absence of a musical score.
FYI: The title refers to the Air Traffic Control distress code for a plane being hijacked.
On the Granger Gauge, “7500” is an intensely suspenseful 7 — and you can bet that it won’t appear as a choice on your next flight’s entertainment roster.
(Editor’s Note: Westport resident Susan Granger grew up in Hollywood, studied journalism with Pierre Salinger at Mills College, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism. In addition to writing for newspapers and magazines, she has been on radio/television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic for many years. See her reviews at www.susangranger.com.)
