Film Review - Vanguard (2020)

Marking the latest collaboration between acclaimed Hong Kong director Stanley Tong (The Myth, Rumble in the Bronx, Supercop) and action legend Jackie Chan (The Foreigner, Police Story, Rush Hour), Vanguard is a wild globetrotting adventure and a throwback to the days of gloriously over-the-top action cinema.

When a client of the international “Vanguard” security agency is kidnapped during Chinatown’s famous Lunar celebrations in London, this elite team (led by Chan) is sent to the rescue, taking them on a wildly ambitious mission all over the world. The adventure takes them from the rivers of Africa, to a heavily guarded fort in India, and an exhilarating car chase in Dubai, all the while unravelling a global conspiracy.

Vanguard boasts stunning action choreography, amazing stunts and the brand of fast-paced action-comedy that made Jackie Chan a global star.

CineAsia presents Vanguard On Demand from 8th January and Blu-ray & DVD 11th January 2021.

Review for Vanguard

This film has a bit of everything thrown at it from martial arts, gunfights, animal attacks, car chases and rockets to name a few! Fast and action-packed this film is a must for all Jackie Chan / Stanley Tong fans.

Vanguard is a security agency run by Jackie Chan, so the up-and-coming guards are the ones on the front line and therefore the ones in most of the fights and completing stunts that would once have been led by Chan.

I was not sure on this film to start with, even though it is action-packed, the Safari scene at the beginning of the film seemed a little too farfetched, but when Chan and his security team turn up and the true fighting begins you see Chan in the thick of it and the film settles in for a great fast-paced, action-comedy.

Some of the special effects are in the same category as Bond or Mission Impossible with remote bees and pigeons carrying tiny cameras to hoverboards and jet packs on individuals to aid in the gunfights.

In true Jackie Chan style, once the film has ended there are outtakes as well as clips showing how the stunts and fighting scenes are put together.