A -{ B i g }- Screen Review, republished -Several- months after the cinematic release of the picture, as a rewrite .
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"Protection Beyond Frontiers" (Vanguard Tagline).
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So, as you've probably gathered by now, by way of my rather { Un }-enthusiastic title ' ; this movie, or in other words the -{ Sixth }- no less , collaboration between Chinese cinematic 'All-rounder' Jackie Chan & veteran Action-filmmaker Stanley Tong ; 'Vanguard', is { Un }-equivocally... Nothing 🔴 to 'write home about'. Needless-to-say, the -glaringly- obvious dubbing issues in the film tend to feel -( Decidedly )- bothersome through the -entire- course of the film. And as a result, -Many- of the film's ( frequent ) attempts at humour -{ Also }- feel cheesy, badly timed, & simply 'Perfunctory', at-Best . -{ Unless }- of course, you are fortunate enough to watch it in its -{ All }- 'Spoken Chinese' iteration... as a Mandarin or Cantonese speaker... { which the vast majority of -English- Movie Watchers here in the U.a.e, ( which is also where -I'm- based, at the moment ), are unfortunately -Not- 😔 } .
And speaking -{ Of }- the U.a.e, I suppose the reason that I practically forced myself to watch -This- particular picture, would be the fact that the -Entire - final act of the film is shot in Dubai { my previous Hometown <3 , and the ' Crown Jewel ' of the U.a.e ) } , with -Several- of the "Tourist-Hotspot" sequences having been shot -{ Literally * ! }- " 7 minutes up the street " from my previous apartment. Unfortunately, However... having now 'been' to all those places featured in the movie { ( -Both- ) in Real-life, ( -As Well- ) as by way of Vanguard's 'big screen capture- of them } ...& consequently having -{ Contextualized }- their relevance to the ( Actual ) narrative of said picture ; I would be remiss to -{ Not }- point out to you that this -{ Whole }- bespoke Final-Act feels very much like a sort of promotional video for The Burj Khalifa & The Dubai Mall { i.e the 'World's Tallest Tower' & the 'World's 4th Largest Shopping Mall', respectively } ...not to mention, ( interestingly enough ), Dubai's Swat Team, & quite frankly, its whole Police-Force... as well .
But for those readers ( and writers ) amongst you who have come to -Know- , ( and understand ), my particular brand of -{ " Constructive 😇 Only " }- Review by now : well , here's three " Really Fun Things " to look out for over the course of the movie. 1 : ' The Extensive, & -{ Mindblowingly }- Good , Whitewater Rapids Chase-scene ' , filmed in South Africa. This is, incidentally, exactly where the " Supremely Dedicated " veteran Action-star Jackie Chan is said to -{ Actually❗}- have almost -Drowned- , doing his own Stunt-work, as he -Largely- does . 2 : The 'extraction'-scene, filmed in an Indian village, which features some -{ Truly }- " Dazzling " Hardcore-action scenes. 3 : A few undoubtedly -{ Novel }- ' Super hi-tech surprises ' , ( & mind you, I'm -Not- referring to the -Seriously- tacky looking fly & bumblebee drones here ) , that you will just have to discover for yourselves, I'm afraid .
Summary : I watched this film on the -{ Big }- screen because I felt like ( I ) just -{ Had }- to see our very cherished Dubai Landmarks, & City-scape itself, visually realized , " Writ Large " . Although, I want to be -{ Really }- clear in saying that ( You ) will be just -{ Fine }- watching it on Dvd or streaming it ; meaning that if -You- weren't able to catch it in the cinema on account of the Pandemic, ( Or Otherwise ), then -You- haven't really missed out , -{ At All }- . So, finally, I'm going to be as 'Gracious' as I humanly can be here, and give this picture a ' Scant , but Honest ✅ ' , 5.50 Marks out of 10 .
______________________________________________________
"Protection Beyond Frontiers" (Vanguard Tagline).
______________________________________________________
So, as you've probably gathered by now, by way of my rather { Un }-enthusiastic title ' ; this movie, or in other words the -{ Sixth }- no less , collaboration between Chinese cinematic 'All-rounder' Jackie Chan & veteran Action-filmmaker Stanley Tong ; 'Vanguard', is { Un }-equivocally... Nothing 🔴 to 'write home about'. Needless-to-say, the -glaringly- obvious dubbing issues in the film tend to feel -( Decidedly )- bothersome through the -entire- course of the film. And as a result, -Many- of the film's ( frequent ) attempts at humour -{ Also }- feel cheesy, badly timed, & simply 'Perfunctory', at-Best . -{ Unless }- of course, you are fortunate enough to watch it in its -{ All }- 'Spoken Chinese' iteration... as a Mandarin or Cantonese speaker... { which the vast majority of -English- Movie Watchers here in the U.a.e, ( which is also where -I'm- based, at the moment ), are unfortunately -Not- 😔 } .
And speaking -{ Of }- the U.a.e, I suppose the reason that I practically forced myself to watch -This- particular picture, would be the fact that the -Entire - final act of the film is shot in Dubai { my previous Hometown <3 , and the ' Crown Jewel ' of the U.a.e ) } , with -Several- of the "Tourist-Hotspot" sequences having been shot -{ Literally * ! }- " 7 minutes up the street " from my previous apartment. Unfortunately, However... having now 'been' to all those places featured in the movie { ( -Both- ) in Real-life, ( -As Well- ) as by way of Vanguard's 'big screen capture- of them } ...& consequently having -{ Contextualized }- their relevance to the ( Actual ) narrative of said picture ; I would be remiss to -{ Not }- point out to you that this -{ Whole }- bespoke Final-Act feels very much like a sort of promotional video for The Burj Khalifa & The Dubai Mall { i.e the 'World's Tallest Tower' & the 'World's 4th Largest Shopping Mall', respectively } ...not to mention, ( interestingly enough ), Dubai's Swat Team, & quite frankly, its whole Police-Force... as well .
But for those readers ( and writers ) amongst you who have come to -Know- , ( and understand ), my particular brand of -{ " Constructive 😇 Only " }- Review by now : well , here's three " Really Fun Things " to look out for over the course of the movie. 1 : ' The Extensive, & -{ Mindblowingly }- Good , Whitewater Rapids Chase-scene ' , filmed in South Africa. This is, incidentally, exactly where the " Supremely Dedicated " veteran Action-star Jackie Chan is said to -{ Actually❗}- have almost -Drowned- , doing his own Stunt-work, as he -Largely- does . 2 : The 'extraction'-scene, filmed in an Indian village, which features some -{ Truly }- " Dazzling " Hardcore-action scenes. 3 : A few undoubtedly -{ Novel }- ' Super hi-tech surprises ' , ( & mind you, I'm -Not- referring to the -Seriously- tacky looking fly & bumblebee drones here ) , that you will just have to discover for yourselves, I'm afraid .
Summary : I watched this film on the -{ Big }- screen because I felt like ( I ) just -{ Had }- to see our very cherished Dubai Landmarks, & City-scape itself, visually realized , " Writ Large " . Although, I want to be -{ Really }- clear in saying that ( You ) will be just -{ Fine }- watching it on Dvd or streaming it ; meaning that if -You- weren't able to catch it in the cinema on account of the Pandemic, ( Or Otherwise ), then -You- haven't really missed out , -{ At All }- . So, finally, I'm going to be as 'Gracious' as I humanly can be here, and give this picture a ' Scant , but Honest ✅ ' , 5.50 Marks out of 10 .