The Old Guard: The Graphic Novel Vs. The Movie (VIDEO SCRIPT)

Yes, yes. Because I’m talking about both of them, there WILL be spoilers for both the movie and the comic book it’s inspired by. So maybe at least catch the movie before you watch this video, if you can. (Pause) ...You good? Great. Let's get started!

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Readers, I think it’s safe to say that “The Old Guard” is one of the most faithful comic book adaptations I’ve seen from Netflix in a very long time.

It respected the source material, was a good action flick in its own right, and pretty much proved that Love and Basketball director Gina Prince-Bythewood has what it takes to be up there with the likes of F. Gary Gray

Now I didn’t necessarily know that this story was originally a comic book written by Greg Rucka that was published by Image when I first saw the trailer for it a while back.

And to tell you the truth, because that info wasn’t revealed to us in the trailer until the middle of it, that wasn’t what sold me.

The moment the trailer told me that this movie was Highlander meets the Expendables, I was already committed. Finding out there was a comic mini series that inspired it was just icing on the cake. And I love icing on cakes. Specifically Buttercream, though; get that whipped shit out my face

So before the movie came out on Netflix, I picked up Book One of The Old Guard, Opening Fire, containing the 5 issues the story of the movie is based on, and I loved it.

Not gonna lie; I was a bit concerned that one or both of my boys Nicky and Joe were gonna bite it, considering media’s track record of not letting queer male characters be in happy loving same sex relationships by killing off one half in the name of character development.

Yeah, it happens in comic books, too. Look at the New 52 version of Alan Scott’s Green Lantern on Earth 2. That shit is Exhibit A

So when I saw the movie, I was incredibly surprised to see just how accurate it was to Opening Fire.

/The story beats were the same, the scene transitions were on par, and the dialogue was pulled STRAIGHT from the book in most instances. Give or take a few additions and changes for budget and story purposes, this was pretty much one of the most faithful live-action adaptations of a graphic novel I’ve seen in a very long time./

So of course with so much faithfulness to the source material, the question is asked even more so than dealing with a film that took multiple creative liberties with the comic storyline it’s inspired by

And that question is, which one is better? The comic-slash-graphic novel, or its movie adaptation?

And if that is in fact why you are here, whether you are a long-time Reader or stumbled across this video, I must warn you that you’re going to be very disappointed.

Y’see, it’s very hard for me to judge which one is better, because the Netflix adaptation is so damn faithful to Opening Fire!

Of course there’s not as much gore and spectacle as the comics display, but given a few story beats, you’re pretty much watching a proper translation of the 5-issue trade to a motion picture.

And that has a lot to do with Gina Prince-Bythewood’s direction and her wanting to do right by the key moments in the book, and the screenplay being written by the creator of The Old Guard himself, Greg Rucka.

Which, considering the changes that were made to the screenplay compared to how it played out in the 5 issue mini series, I was slightly relieved to see that they were made by him and not Netflix executives trying to interfere in the telling of his story.

And its not like the changes in question took away from the overall plot of the story, either.

Sure, small changes like setting the final battle in London instead of Dubai made sense budget-wide. But that’s not what I’m talking about.

Although getting the Little Shit Cousin from Harry Potter to play the piece-of-shit pharmaceutical villain in the movie was a nice touch.

No, I’m talking about the creative changes that were made to give the movie a “similar but different” feel compared to the book.

/Things like Nile having a chance to meet the entire team before Joe and Nicky were kidnapped. The bonding between Andy and Nile plays out a bit more seriously considering the circumstances, as opposed to how quickly the two were joking and bonding when Nile joined the team in the comic. Andy’s romance with Achilles was still referenced in the form of the painting in the mine like in Opening Fire, but instead of THAT being the flashback we got of her learning to cope with not getting attached to anyone, he’s replaced with another immortal named Quynh that we’re never even introduced to in Volume 1, and even having Nile DREAM her in order to get that exposition out of the team in the first place. And then of course there’s the decision to have Andy start losing her immortality halfway through the movie, while Andy in the graphic novel kept it throughout./

I personally would’ve had a bit of a problem with SOME of these changes the movie made in comparison to how things played out in the comic book, if Greg Rucka didn’t write the screenplay.

Because it tells me that upon writing this adaptation of his series for a Netflix feature film, he put in place some ideas he had for his second Old Guard story “Force Multiplied” in order for the eventual sequel to this movie to streamline better.

And anyone who’s read the 5 issues that make up “Force Multiplied” would probably have a better idea than I would in how that would’ve made sense narratively speaking.

I say that because unfortunately, I read comics by volume and trade now, not by issue.

At the time of the recording of this video, Volume 1 of The Old Guard collecting issues 1-5 of “Opening Fire,” the story the movie was based on, was all that was available in trade paperback...

And I didn’t want to get the single issues of Force Multiplied just to keep up, knowing I couldn’t properly store and take care of it if it were in a trade. So until The Old Guard Book 2: Force Multiplied is released in September 2020, I can’t verify if any of the extra additions regarding Andy losing her immortality...

Copley becoming their “Oracle” figure...

Or the return of Quynh during the mid-credit scene were either taken from the next five issues of the series or were exclusive to the film adaptation.

/Although according to the synopsis of Book 2, it’s a good guess that the latter revelation in the movie is definitely an element that’s going to be the focus of the graphic novel the movie sequel will eventually be based on/

But despite me not having that much knowledge about the future of the comic series in order to pinpoint the accuracy of the film series adapted from it, I still find it extremely hard for me to say that the comic is better than the movie or even vice versa, because they’re both just really good experiences in themselves.

With “The Old Guard Book One: Opening Fire,” I enjoyed the genuineness of all the characters introduced.

I laughed at Andy constantly struggling with how to use her phone because she’s too old to keep up with technology.

I love the sisterhood she and Nile formed once they got their search for Nicky and Joe off the ground.

I felt empathy for Book when he explained why he betrayed the team after their first failed attempt to rescue Nicky and Joe. And I just love Nicky and Joe!

But at the same time, the movie offers things that I would’ve liked to have seen from Opening Fire.

/Despite me laughing at the concept of immortals that can’t keep up with the world as it evolves, it was nice to see Andy and the like in the movie not being treated like incompetent Baby Boomers when dealing with trivial technological tasks.

/While I did like seeing the way Nile and Andy bonded over the course of the comic, seeing Nile feel first-hand that isolation upon seeing how her fellow marines looked at her upon her first resurrection, while seeing the way she tried and failed to cope with the fact that she was immortal -- with the added heat of Andy trying to get her to see a sense of reason as to how quickly she adapted to the life in the comics -- brings a whole new dynamic and, despite the hook of the series, adds a sense of realness to it that the comic wouldn’t really be able to emulate.

/And I just fucking love Nicky and Joe!/

It’s absolutely unfair to try and say that one is better than the other, when both of them compliment each other so well.

I’ll have links in the description below if you want to pick up a copy of The Old Guard Volume 1 and either pre-order or pick up a copy of Volume 2 in the description below depending on when you watch this video. I implore you to at least read Opening Fire after watching the movie so you can see exactly what I’m talking about

/It’s very rare that I see a film adaptation of a graphic novel do the story so much justice while adding new elements to it in order for it to stand out on its own, to the point where the movie is just as much required watching as the source material is required reading, and I’m personally glad such a feat happened with The Old Guard/

Because it means if THEY can do it...then these other studios really have no excuse

But, I digress, Readers. Your Homework Assignment for the day:

If you’ve seen The Old Guard, write in the comment section below what you thought about it!

Or, if you feel like sharing with the rest of the class, if you know any other live-action comic book adaptations that are as faithful to the source material and original storyline AS The Old Guard

Whichever question you decide to answer, I’d love to know your thoughts.