Vanguard (2019)

[36tripsofdeath]

An early movie review direct from Movie elusive. It sounds good to me and like I thought it would be.

http://www.moviexclusive.com/movie/vanguard-246132080838155-2020

[sym8]

8 hours ago, 36tripsofdeath said:

An early movie review direct from Movie elusive. It sounds good to me and like I thought it would be.

http://www.moviexclusive.com/movie/vanguard-246132080838155-2020

 

2 1/2 out of 5.Read the review and doesn’t sound good to me,will check it out when it becomes available but not holding out for much.Seems to be Jackies way now (quantity over quality)

[Drunken Monk]

Yeah, that was not a glowing review. Sounds like it has competent action sequences and everything else is shitty. If the action is solid, like the review implies, I'll definitely give this one a go but I'm disheartened to hear there's no plot, no good acting a barely any Jackie.

[36tripsofdeath]

Another Review. Looking at two sides of the coin.

https://michaelnontonmulu.blogspot.com/2020/01/special-screening-vanguard-high-octane.html?m=1

[mark187]

According to ScreenHK on Facebook, Stanley Tong said in a recent interview that this film will not be released online but will still be released theatrically. Unfortunately no release date yet due to Covid-19

[whitesnake]

From https://variety.com/2020/film/news/china-2020-movies-zhang-yimou-impasse-1234610138/ 

In the second half of 2020, China will give Vanguard a theatrical release, as well as Dante Lam's The Rescue, and Zhang Yimou's spy thriller, Impasse.  Insiders are predicting that Chinese theaters will open in early June.  "No specific release dates have been issued yet."

[36tripsofdeath]

The new release date has been officially set for September 30, 2020 for the National Holiday.

[36tripsofdeath]

A new review

https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/entertainment/2020/09/25/039vanguard039-review-it039s-all-so-over-the-top-it039s-amazing

[36tripsofdeath]

Info regarding release in UK, Ireland, and Russia.

https://variety.com/2020/film/news/jackie-chan-vanguard-trinity-cineasia-1234788630/amp/

[Drunken Monk]

Here’s a quick scene featuring both hand to hand action and, of course, a CGI lion...

 

[rdenn]

jackie has his co stars doing all the work in this one, he hardly does anything  but the fight scenes are not to bad

[D1 Ma]

what's with the lions? Jackie had'em in Who Am I?, Kung Fu Yoga and now Vangauard

 Action looks good, inventive and funny, but it's too PG-13 for my tastes

[DiP]

5 hours ago, rdenn said:

jackie has his co stars doing all the work in this one, he hardly does anything  but the fight scenes are not to bad

Good to know not to waste time on yet another junk from Jackie.

[36tripsofdeath]

I watched the movie and I must say that it failed to live up to my expectations. The action had decent moments but at the end of the day the action left a lot to be desired. I thought that early reviews were just complaining about the size of Jackie's role but this time the reasoning was legitimate. In other films where Jackie has a smaller role, his scenes are given prominence. Here, he is just usually one of many in combat.

Actually, my favorite scene, as silly as it sounds, is a scene with Jackie wearing traditional middle Eastern garb, guaranteeing a man and his family the ability to start new somewhere else on the condition that he helps them get into a fortress. The actual leads in this movie are very uncharismatic and not at all engaging. The gold plated sports cars were nice but the car chase was very underwhelming. 

In conclusion, better to me than Kung Fu Yoga but that means very little.

3/10.

Hopefully, Project X Traction, which Jackie is putting the finishing touches on, will be a good movie.

The lengthy post production is a good sign for The Foreigner also had a lengthy post production.

Plus, Project X Traction won't be a Jackie surrounded by youngsters movie.

 

[daman77]

Gravitas Films, will be releasing Vanguard in North America on Nov 20th....

[laagi]

This "sneak peak" really doesn't do the movie any favor. It looks... dreadful. I mean what's with the crappy CGI in these movies nowadays. Just WHY!? Apart from that the terrible acting and jokes and the action is average at best. I hope Jackie and his crew are at least having a blast doing these things. But honestly I just wished he stopped and focused on his serious roles again. He's proven more than capable with the likes of "Shinjuku Incident" or "The Foreigner". Or as I said time and time again just move behind the camera. The man clearly has enough talents why taint it with this mediocrity.

[sym8]

1 hour ago, laagi said:

Or as I said time and time again just move behind the camera. The man clearly has enough talents why taint it with this mediocrity.

I’d love to see Jackie just be choreographer on someone else’s movie and just give us some great action rather than being the centre of attention and not do much(he is getting on a bit)but I don’t see that happening

[DiP]

12 hours ago, laagi said:

This "sneak peak" really doesn't do the movie any favor. It looks... dreadful. I mean what's with the crappy CGI in these movies nowadays. Just WHY!? Apart from that the terrible acting and jokes and the action is average at best. I hope Jackie and his crew are at least having a blast doing these things. But honestly I just wished he stopped and focused on his serious roles again. He's proven more than capable with the likes of "Shinjuku Incident" or "The Foreigner". Or as I said time and time again just move behind the camera. The man clearly has enough talents why taint it with this mediocrity.

Filmmakers these days are keeping it economical and safer by employing CGI. Not what we as fans crave for but given the circumstances nowadays contra 20 years ago, it's understandable. I'd say filmmakers are taking little risks now due to politics.

As for Jackie, I've always said this since the term "junk" became the norm in his movies... He should stick to dramatic roles, AND go back to directing/action directing.

[Karlos]

Reading this thread, it's finally, truly, utterly sunk in with me - HK action cinema really is dead, isn't it?

[TibetanWhiteCrane]

1 hour ago, Karlos said:

Reading this thread, it's finally, truly, utterly sunk in with me - HK action cinema really is dead, isn't it?

It has been for years.

[Karlos]

52 minutes ago, TibetanWhiteCrane said:

It has been for years.

True.  Looking at the various threads on new films coming out of China, I realised I was still, stupidly, hoping someone would reignite the HK scene.

I mean, HK itself barely exists as it once did!

I guess I'm naive sometimes.

[AlbertV]

8 hours ago, Karlos said:

I mean, HK itself barely exists as it once did!

I guess I'm naive sometimes.

Mark Houghton said it best when I interviewed him last year:
With the action genre in Hong Kong today, do you think kung fu films needs a resurgence or are you happy with the way the genre is today?
Well, let’s face it. The 80’s and 90’s style is gone. Even Sammo Hung had said it at one point. The problem today is that there is no power behind the action. Back even when there were the Shaw Brothers, real martial artists were cast, and they had that power in their fights. I mean, you can even feel that power. Nowadays, actors, singers, and dancers train in martial arts for films. There is that grace and fluidity, but it lacks power.

Sad to say, HK cinema is all but completely extinct.

[D1 Ma]

MA cinema faces the same problems all over the world.

HK is dead.

Thailand is dead, too. Dan Chupong hasn't made anything since Rittikrai's death. Jeeja had a couple of minor bits. Mike B disapeared into oblivion and even Jaa has only supporting roles in international productions

 South Korea hasn't made anything decent in years except for Revenger

 Indonesia can still deliver but it mostly gore that makes their movies stand out, not the intricate choreo or insane moves

In the States Johnny Young Bosch is doing voice overs, Eric Jacobus is busy doing motion capture for video games

 We have some low budget flicks popping out here and there, but nothing really special

 Heck, I can't even name a single up and coming martial artist who can be considered a New Hope of the genre

The only guy who still delivers(more or less) is Adkins, but he's not getting any younger and I'm afraid his best fights are in the past. The same goes for Donnie. (BTW, last week I re-watched a couple of his earlier flicks and man, he was fast and so agile in his prime! I kinda forgot about that over the years and was pleasantly surprised)

Edited October 16, 2020 by D1 Ma

[DrNgor]

5 hours ago, D1 Ma said:

MA cinema faces the same problems all over the world.

HK is dead.

Thailand is dead, too. Dan Chupong hasn't made anything since Rittikrai's death. Jeeja had a couple of minor bits. Mike B disapeared into oblivion and even Jaa has only supporting roles in international productions

 South Korea hasn't made anything decent in years except for Revenger

 Indonesia can still deliver but it mostly gore that makes their movies stand out, not the intricate choreo or insane moves

In the States Johnny Young Bosch is doing voice overs, Eric Jacobus is busy doing motion capture for video games

 We have some low budget flicks popping out here and there, but nothing really special

 Heck, I can't even name a single up and coming martial artist who can be considered a New Hope of the genre

The only guy who still delivers(more or less) is Adkins, but he's not getting any younger and I'm afraid his best fights are in the past. The same goes for Donnie. (BTW, last week I re-watched a couple of his earlier flicks and man, he was fast and so agile in his prime! I kinda forgot about that over the years and was pleasantly surprised)

 

17 hours ago, AlbertV said:

Sad to say, HK cinema is all but completely extinct.

 

On 10/15/2020 at 10:52 AM, Karlos said:

True.  Looking at the various threads on new films coming out of China, I realised I was still, stupidly, hoping someone would reignite the HK scene.

I mean, HK itself barely exists as it once did!

Very depressing these posts are. But considering some of the recent Mainland films I watched recently, the situation is getting dire.

I do wonder if things don't start looking up soon, if we (collectively speaking) will start reappraising films and stars that we either disregarded before, or had backlashed as overrated at some point. 

Can you imagine in three years the whole of the KFF collectively talking about the footwork genius that was John Liu, or people not badmouthing the Venom Mob films anymore? 

Edited October 16, 2020 by DrNgor

[laagi]

I wouldn't say HK cinema is dead. There's some great movies out there just not MA or Action related. To be honest I'm glad Donnie Yen is still around and delivering some of the goods.

I can't help but feel that HK Action or MA cinema didn't really have any plans past the Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen etc. era. They were so busy to pump out movies it almost seemed endless. There seemed to be some attempts to look for new talent. Jacky Wu or Max Zhang come to mind. But while them and others did have some good movies, it was never something stable.

My biggest disappointment is with the older guys mentioned above. While I'm aware they have no obligation whatsoever their love for the genre should have led them to look and especially help promote new talent. Imagine the wonders that could be produced with the right talent in front and behind the camera.

Edited October 16, 2020 by laagi