The time when films with Jackie Chan in the lead role caused a lot of excitement is long gone. Modern action films have other heroes, however, Jackie Chan’s new projects are still attracting attention. You can always expect comedy stunts and a fairly understandable plot from them. All this is in the Chinese action movie “Vanguard” (Vanguard), but none of the above can be called successful.

According to the plot of the film, “Vanguard” is the name of a private security service that provides protection to VIP clients around the world. In the headquarters of the organization, located in the heart of London, comes a message about the kidnapping of a wealthy Chinese businessman. In order for the hostage to give the necessary information, the hired militants plan to get to his daughter, who is in Africa, completely unaware of the situation with her father. At this time, the Vanguard enters the game, carrying out a rescue mission led by the hero of Jackie Chan.

If the plot of the film seems rather hackneyed, you should not rush to conclusions, everything will be even worse ahead. In some places, the film balances on the verge of “so bad it’s even good.” In the end, what you see will be incredibly funny, only scenes where the creators did not provide for any humor cause laughter.

It is worth starting with the fact that the film “Vanguard” is the sixth joint project of Jackie Chan and Chinese director Stanley Tong. In the 1990s, they worked on a Hong Kong cop action movie (called Police Story III: Super Cop) that won several awards at Asian film festivals. In cooperation, Chan and Tong staged fighting stunts, combining them with comic episodes, which eventually turned into quite successful, if sometimes repetitive action films.

Thanks to the joint efforts of the actor and director, the action movie Rumble in the Bronx appeared, which hit the American box office, providing the first massive wave of Jackie Chan’s popularity in the United States. It is noteworthy that the picture was edited for American audiences, cutting out several scenes from the Hong Kong version that were inappropriate due to differences in culture.

As for the film “Vanguard”, released twenty years later “Showdown in the Bronx”, then it does not come close to any adaptations. On the contrary, elements of Chinese propaganda slip through the action movie (which is only worth the superhero Captain China, which the characters talk about) and a completely wild display of representatives of other nations (in other words, most of the foreign heroes were endowed with impenetrable stupidity). With all this, the creators of the action tried very hard to make a beautiful and modern picture, invited young actors and gave the supporting role to the Chinese pop idol Zhu Zhengting. But the most ridiculous plot with ill-conceived details can destroy any gloss, and the situation cannot be saved either by new faces, or even by Jackie Chan’s game.

By the way, about Jackie Chan – his role in the film cannot be called the main one. The character of the actor manages the rescue operations, personally participating in fights, but in fact he is only a minor hero with a noble mission. There is no central character in Avangard at all, it presents a collective history stuffed with awkward episodes. And this would be bearable if the action movie were not decorated with CGI animals (the case when it is better to show a real lion from afar than persistently demonstrate on camera the friendship between a person and the result of unconvincing computer graphics), awkward romance and unbearably sublime dialogue. Yeah, it’s not the worst part of the movie. An indelible impression is left by the installation of Avangard, where almost every change of events is indicated by a dying screen, which over time begins to resemble a PowerPoint presentation.

Against the backdrop of such awkward details of “Avant-garde”, the staging of the film’s action scenes seems very even nothing. Who would be surprised by the violation of the laws of physics and the noticeable acceleration of cars, the main thing is that the heroes can fight and chase in any conditions.

Taking advantage of the moment, director Stanley Tong inserts stunts with Jackie Chan into the general scenes, in which the actor demonstrates his trademark comedy. Alas, in this film, their long-standing concept does not work. But for fans of Jackie, there is still a bonus – traditional titles with shots of how the staged fights were filmed. There is also a mention of an incident with a jet ski, as a result of which Jackie Chan almost lost his life.

Before the credits, the audience will have a solemn finale in the spirit of the great celebration of the Chinese New Year. It was supposed to give a festive atmosphere in the winter season, but the film’s premiere was postponed due to the spread of the coronavirus. Now, the New Year’s binding is perceived as another comical detail against the backdrop of a failed action movie.