12 Action Movies Like The Old Guard You Must See

Adapted by Greg Rucka from his eponymous comic book series, ‘The Old Guard’ follows a group of mercenaries with advanced healing powers that make them immortal. After staying in the shadows and influencing global events for centuries, they find their anonymity at risk in modern times. When a pharmaceutical giant gets to know of their existence, it sends a private army to bring them in. Meanwhile, the group led by Andromache “Andy” of Scythia (Charlize Theron) becomes aware of the presence of a young new immortal in the world, U.S. Marine Nile Freeman (KiKi Layne). Abducting her from Afghanistan before the military can send her for testing, Andy inducts Nile into their team as they make a stand to retain their freedom.

The science fiction fantasy action movie directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood offers a fresh take on well-established tropes. These include immortal beings walking among ordinary humans and an odd group of individuals fighting to avoid becoming test subjects for those with vested interests. The movie also stands apart by having a woman lead the team of powerful beings in a fairly patriarchal genre landscape. If you’ve enjoyed the watch, here are some more movies similar to ‘The Old Guard’ that you may consider next.

12. Highlander (1986)

Directed by Russell Mulcahy, ‘Highlander’ centers around Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert), a trained swordsman from the Scottish Highlands who currently works as an antique dealer in New York City. He is an unwilling participant in a secret war among immortals, where they try to kill each other by beheading. The remaining few are to meet in New York for a prize fight called the Gathering. There, Connor needs to ensure that the evil Kurgan doesn’t get his hands on the ultimate reward. Like ‘The Old Guard,’ the immortals in ‘Highlander’ are also under constant threat, but only from each other.

11. Lucy (2014)

Helmed by Luc Besson, ‘Lucy’ is about an American student in Taipei (Scarlett Johansson) who gets abducted by a South Korean drug lord while delivering a briefcase for her boyfriend. Forcibly turned into a mule, she gets superhuman abilities when a pack of synthetic chemicals leaks inside her body. With her newfound powers, such as telepathy, telekinesis, mental time travel, and negated emotions, she wreaks havoc on her captors before seeking out a neurologist, Professor Samuel Norman (Morgan Freeman), for help. After her transformation into a superpowered being, Lucy shows internal and external strength similar to that of Andy in ‘The Old Guard.’

10. Hancock (2008)

Peter Berg’s ‘Hancock’ stars Will Smith as the titular hero with the powers of flight, invulnerability, and super-strength. Amnesiac, alcoholic, and reckless, he leaves huge collateral damage in his wake every time he interferes in an event with the intention to help. Living in Los Angeles, Hancock refuses to care what other people think of him, as he is shunned and even hated by the masses. However, after saving the life of a PR executive, Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman), and meeting his wife, Mary (Charlize Theron), Hancock begins to discover his sensitive side as well as the origin of his powers. The unkillable, imperfect hero putting himself repeatedly through danger resonates with the ragtag team of superpowered beings in ‘The Old Guard.’

9. Bloodshot (2020)

Based on a character from Valiant Comics, ‘Bloodshot’ by David S. F. Wilson revolves around US Marine Ray Garrison, who is killed with his wife by a group of mercenaries. A tech corporation in Kuala Lumpur brings him back to life, replacing his blood with nanites and giving him super strength, reflexes, and healing abilities in the process. Turned into an unstoppable force, he tracks down his wife’s killers to have his revenge. However, the corporation manipulates his memories, and soon Ray embarks on a mission to uncover the truth about his past. A skilled combatant with fast healing powers, Ray’s abilities are a perfect fit if ‘The Old Guard’ is recruiting.

8. Van Helsing (2004)

‘Van Helsing’ by Stephen Sommers is a reimagination of the eponymous character introduced in Bram Stoker’s classic horror novel, ‘Dracula.’ Hugh Jackman stars in the movie as the famous monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, who works for the Knights of the Holy Order. Tasked with assisting Anna (Kate Beckinsale) and Velkan Valerious (Will Kemp), the last of an ancient Romanian family, in defeating Count Dracula (Richard Roxburgh), Van Helsing travels to Transylvania along with weapons designer, friar Carl (David Wenham). Upon reaching, he finds evil forces working together over something sinister, and makes troubling discoveries about his own past. Similar to ‘The Old Guard,’ the movie brings up legends from the past, though it leans heavily on established IP.

7. 6 Underground (2019)

‘6 Underground,’ directed by Michael Bay, tells the story of a vigilante squad of highly skilled individuals who have faked their deaths to leave their old lives behind. The team is formed by American billionaire and philanthropist Magnet S. Johnson (Ryan Reynolds), who witnesses the horrors of a brutal regime in a fictional Central Asian nation and decides to take down terrorists whom world leaders refuse to touch. Known as One, he recruits five others in his mission, assigning them numbers and collectively referring to themselves as ghosts. Much like ‘The Old Order,’ they dedicate their new lives to making the world a better place.

6. The Hitman’s Bodyguard (2017)

Directed by Patrick Hughes, ‘The Hitman’s Bodyguard’ follows Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds), a top protection agent who has fallen out of grace and is tasked with guarding his nemesis, notorious hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson). They embark on a wild journey from the UK to the Hague in the Netherlands, which needs to be completed in 24 hours for Darius to testify in the International Criminal Court. The duo faces mercenaries and corrupt agency officials on their way, courtesy of Vladislav Dukhovich (Gary Oldman), the dictator of Belarus. Unlike ‘The Old Guard,’ the film does not involve any superpowered beings. However, Michael and Darius take on threats of the same scale nonetheless.

5. Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)

Based on an eponymous comic book series, director Matthew Vaughn’s ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ centers around Gary “Eggsy” Unwin (Taron Egerton), a street-smart and athletic young man who gets recruited by Harry Hart (Colin Firth) into a secret spy organization called Kingsman. Created by the British elite who lost their heirs in World War I, the private intelligence service uses a tailor shop on Savile Row as its front and protects the world from major threats without government interference. Unlike the individuals of ‘The Old Guard,’ it is the organization that exists for generations in ‘Kingsman.’ Eggsy’s induction by Harry brings to mind what Niles goes through with Andy in the other movie.

4. Project Power (2020)

Helmed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, ‘Project Power’ tells the story of a mysterious drug that becomes available on the streets of New Orleans, which gives users unique temporary superpowers. As a result, the crime rate in the city escalates to dangerous levels. To stop the group responsible for the drug, local cop Frank Shaver (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) teams with a teenage dealer Robin Reilly (Dominique Fishback) and a veteran Art (Jamie Foxx), and decides to use it themselves. The narrative of the film overlaps with that of ‘The Old Guard’ as the ragtag superpowered group takes on a powerful drug manufacturer.

3. X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

A spin-off prequel to the original ‘X-Men’ trilogy, ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ traces the origin of Logan (Hugh Jackman), better known as Wolverine. Born in the 1800s, Logan is the half-brother of Victor (Liev Schreiber), aka Sabretooth, who later becomes his nemesis. The brothers participate in the historical wars that the US fights side by side for centuries, and get recruited to a task force led by Major William Stryker following the Vietnam War. Disillusioned by the team’s brutality, Logan leaves, only to be pursued by Stryke and Victor years later. The film reveals how the Marvel hero got his skeleton coated in indestructible adamantium and the role he played in the history of both ordinary people and mutants over the ages, similar to ‘The Old Guard.’

2. Blade (1998)

‘Blade’ by Stephen Norrington stars Wesley Snipes as the titular Marvel superhero, a daywalker with the strengths of a vampire and none of their weaknesses. After his mother is attacked by a vampire and killed during childbirth, Blade grows up to be a vampire hunter, aided by his old friend Abraham Whistler. While on a hunt, he discovers the plan of a young generation of vampires to summon the “blood god” La Magra, in an attempt to eradicate the human race. Similar to the old guard, Blade is gifted with near immortality on account of his vampiric traits. He uses them to the fullest as he attempts to rid the world of evil.

1. Wanted (2008)

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov, ‘Wanted’ follows Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy), a 24-year-old who is stuck in a dead-end office job. After his estranged father is murdered, Wesley learns that he was a member of a secret society of superpowered assassins called the Fraternity. He gets recruited to the group by Fox (Angelina Jolie), who, along with the Fraternity’s leader, Sloan (Morgan Freeman), teaches Wesley how to utilise his dormant powers. While thrilled with the change in his life, Wesley soon realizes something sinister is underway in the Fraternity. ‘Wanted’ shares many similarities with ‘The Old Guard,’ as both stories center a group of superpowered beings working as trained killers. Fox welcomes Wesley to the group, similar to how Andy brings Niles in in the latter film.