The Old Guard | 2020 | R | – 3.7.5

Why is “The Old Guard” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “sequences of graphic violence, and language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a romantic kiss between two men, a few hugs in greeting and a partially nude female statue, many battle and fight scenes using guns, swords, battle axes and hand-to-hand combat with many combatants ending up dead or injured with a lot of bloody wounds, and at least 5 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Based on the eponymous comic book series: Four ancient warriors (Charlize Theron, Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari and Luca Marinelli) with the ability to heal from their battle wounds, take on covert missions, protecting humans for many centuries. When a ruthless pharmaceutical mogul (Harry Melling) decides to kidnap them in order to find and sell their immorality secret, they not only have to protect themselves but also a young woman (KiKi Layne), who’s just discovered she cannot be killed. Also with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Van Veronica Ngo and Natacha Karam. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. Several lines of dialogue are spoken in Italian and Russian without translation, and a few in Pashto with translation. [Running Time: 1:58]

The Old Guard SEX/NUDITY 3

 – Two men embrace while sleeping (they are both clothed). A man winks at another man. A man professes his deep love for another man and the two men kiss tenderly before being pulled apart by several armed men. A woman and a couple of men hug in greeting.
► A statue of a partially nude woman shows bare breasts and nipples, and a woman asks if another woman knew the sculptor Rodin and a man says, “Probably biblically.”

The Old Guard VIOLENCE/GORE 7

 – Three armed soldiers enter a building after being shot at, one soldier shoots the shooter inside in the chest (we see bloody wound on his chest) and as he dies he slashes the soldier on the throat (we see a lot of blood spraying from her neck and she dies).
► Two women are hanged and we see them revive and gag with nooses around their necks; they are then taken to a cell where they are shackled and one is locked in an iron cage and thrown into the sea; we see it sink and watch as she screams underwater, drowns, then revives and screams and drowns, again and again. Four people arm themselves with explosives, guns, swords and a battle axe before entering a building where they attack and kill several armed guards in hallways and when they enter a room they are all shot repeatedly by many armed men (this scene is repeated several times and we see their bodies flinching from the bullet strikes, blood sprays and we see very bloody wounds).
► Several people run through a building shooting other armed people and we see blood spray; an explosion throws several people, a man straddles another man and shoots him in the mouth (we do not see result), and a woman beats several men with a fire axe (blood sprays and spurts). A man holds a gun on a woman and another woman holds a gun on him before shooting the other woman and she hits the man with a fire axe as the other woman tackles him and they both fall through a window and many stories down to crash onto a parked car below (we see the woman twisted and crumpled and bloody; she revives with her bones realigning and cracking), and the man lies dead and bloody in the car. A woman jumps down on top of several armed men, fights with them, stabs them and shoots them (blood sprays and we see blood pooling on the floor). A man swings from a cable and crashes through a window opening fire on many armed people inside (blood splatters). Two women fight together in several battles using swords and we see others falling dead with some blood spraying. A woman hits two soldiers knocking them out and takes a gun from another soldier, holding it on her and taking her away in a military vehicle; the soldier opens the back of the vehicle and she rolls out onto the road before the driver gets out and shoots her in the back of the head (we see bloody hole in her forehead); she lies still briefly, then gasps and the wound heals. A woman shoots several guards as she moves through a building, she is shot in the back (blood sprays) and she falls through a lab door where she encounters another woman and punches her in the face (she falls unconscious). A woman stabs another woman in the shoulder (she groans and pulls the blade out). A woman in a plane holds a gun on a pilot, another woman shoots the pilot and the plane begins to descend until the pilot revives (he was not shot) and the two women fight with punches, throws, flips and kicks; one spits blood and we see blood in her teeth, and one woman breaks the other’s arm (we see it bend unnaturally and the bloody bone sticks out from her elbow); one woman also breaks the other’s leg and we see it bent unnaturally as we hear a crunch (we see the bone in her arm being reabsorbed and the wound close up with some squishing sounds later). Armed men open fire on three men shooting one in the chest and one in the head (we see bloody wounds); one man revives and a woman slaps the other in the face causing him to cough and revive and he says a grenade hit him. A man shoots a woman in the back (we see a bloody wound) and ties her hands behind her back. A man stabs another man repeatedly in the back (we hear squishing and see bloody wounds; they heal quickly). A man head-butts another man in the face (he stumbles back and we see a bruise on his forehead). A woman shoots herself in the foot (it bleeds through her boot and we hear the wound healing). Four people fight many armed people with punching, throws, kicks, sword slashes, axe blows and gunshots until only the four remain.
► Four dead bodies are shown lying on the ground with open bloody wounds in the heads, faces and torsos (blood is shown pooled on the floor and splattered). Several people, after being injured or killed, are shown reviving with their bloody wounds closing and bullets pushing out through entry points in several scenes. A man is shown with a deep abdominal wound; we see blood in his mouth and a woman tries to help him but the man dies. A woman shackled and chained in a cell pulls hard against her restraints and we see her wrists bleeding. A woman puts her hand in a flame and we see blisters on her fingers but they quickly heal and she moans. A woman bandages another woman’s shoulder wound and we see the open gash and some blood.
► A woman jumps out of a moving train (we see her walking away uninjured). A motorbike speeds in front of a woman and cuts her off; the rider and the woman then walk together.
► A woman wakes with a start and talks about a nightmare about a woman locked in an iron coffin under the sea and that she kept drowning, reviving and drowning again, ad infinitum. A woman wakes from a nightmare of someone being shot. A man talks about capturing four people for experimentation purposes. A hostage situation is discussed and we are told that several young children are being held. A man talks about his wife dying from ALS. A man talks about his youngest son dying of cancer at the age of 42. A woman says, “The world can burn for all I care.” People talk about a woman and are suspicious of her recovery after a seemingly fatal injury. A woman tells another woman, “I was worshiped as a god.” A man talks about creating the “Terrors of the Earth.” A woman talks about her father having been killed in action while serving as a Marine. A man says, “All things die.” A man says that others are being tortured. A man is told that he must be alone for 100 years.
► A woman vomits on the ground (we see goo).

The Old Guard LANGUAGE 5

 – About 5 F-words, 17 scatological terms (1 spoken in French without translation), 3 anatomical terms, 8 mild obscenities, name-calling (grotesque, snuff film, kid, coward, bloody mess, illogic, insane, heretics, witch, unethical, immoral, traitor, selfish, pathetic, bedhead), exclamations (shut-up, screw it), 2 religious profanities (GD), 9 religious exclamations (e.g. Oh My God, Jesus, My God, God, God Knows, I was worshiped as a god). | profanity glossary |

The Old Guard SUBSTANCE USE

 – A transport plane is shown with bricks of drugs and a woman refers to the pilot being a drug runner, two men are injected in the neck with a sedative, and a man and woman are injected with a sedative. A few people in a room drink tea with liquor poured from a flask, a man drinks from a flask in several scenes, a woman drinks Ouzo and others drink wine with a meal, a man drops a partial bottle of liquor and stumbles into an apartment, and a woman guzzles from a bottle of liquor on a transport plane.

The Old Guard DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Immortality, saving humanity, making a difference, dementia, aging, big pharma, sadism, profit, survival, risks, betrayal, halting the aging process, greed, supernatural beings, destiny, consequences, mythology, guilt, regret, despair, grief, misery, witch trials.

The Old Guard MESSAGE

 – Immortality can be a curse.