Covert security company Vanguard is the last hope of survival for an accountant after he is targeted by the world's deadliest mercenary organization.... (Full plot summary below)
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Covert security company Vanguard is the last hope of survival for an accountant after he is targeted by the world's deadliest mercenary organization.
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| Film ThreatAlex SavelievThere are worse ways to pass 90 minutes for those willing to disregard the film’s numerous, glaring flaws. Call it a Chinese Mission Impossible, minus Ethan Hunt’s budget and brains. |
| Original-CinThom ErnstLet’s be clear: Vanguard is not a great film. Arguably, it’s one of the lesser successes in the Stanley Tong/Jackie Chan oeuvre. But even if Vanguard tilts the scales slightly lower than the duos earlier efforts (Vanguard is their ninth collaboration), it still doesn’t dip low enough to be a failure. |
| San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleFor the most part, this film has the disadvantages of Chinese action films, without the advantages. That is, it overdoes the action and it’s short on character, without attaining the manic, wild heights of Hong Kong cinema of the 1980s and early ’90s. Still, it’s nice to see Chan once again in a Chinese environment. |
| RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsThe movie’s off-putting and constantly foregrounded political agenda wouldn’t be so unpleasant if the action scenes were more plentiful and/or thrilling. They aren’t. |
| New York PostJohnny OleksinskiOf course, nobody watches a Jackie Chan movie for the sophisticated plots or deep characters. They come for the martial arts. But those, too, settle for being not much more than a kick in the park. |
| The Observer (UK)Wendy IdeIt’s an unforgivable waste of Jackie Chan, action-movie legend, reduced here to pratfalls and gurning double takes. |
| The Hollywood ReporterElizabeth KerrIf nothing else, director Stanley Tong and martial arts superstar Jackie Chan’s latest effort, Vanguard, proves the law of diminishing returns. Not too long ago a Chan film guaranteed an entertaining time at the movies and heaps of awe at what the human body could endure. Now? Not so much. |
| Screen DailyJohn BerraMore of branding exercise than a fully fledged star vehicle, this fast moving but instantly forgettable adventure allows Chan to participate in the set pieces while ceding the really strenuous activity to his up-and-coming co-stars. |
| Austin ChronicleMatthew MonagleAll of this culminates in a film that is equal parts silly and nationalist. If you find yourself nostalgic for the bloodless mode of America vs. The World action movies that populated the 1990s, then Vanguard is for you. And if you’re a Jackie Chan completist, the mediocre nature of the film is at least partially offset by his heartfelt rendition of the theme song and an A+ collection of outtakes that play over the end credits. |
| The New York TimesGlenn KennyTong is not a stickler for verisimilitude. Hence, this movie’s ridiculous computer generated lions; hence also, its solid-gold sports cars. |
