Vanguard

Who destroys the god? Luthor destroys the god.

But enough about the game, let's talk film. I think this will be a reoccuring thing for this show, like anytime there is a direct to video Jackie Chan film I'm going to rent it and review it. And this is a bit similar to Bleeding Steel which was one of the most outrageous yet easily one of the most entertaining films I have ever seen in all my days. The plot sounds basic with this super security company tasked with protecting a high priority accountant who is targeted by a mercenary group, who also goes after his daughter leading Jackie and his team of asskickers to keep them safe. And then you see the movie. Oh boy. Wow. It still has the basic yet still highly admirable hand to hand fighting, with good choreography and humor to it but you would be surprised how much gunplay is in this and blood for that matter. Easily the most shooty shoots and blood I've ever seen in a Jackie Chan movie, but then you get stuff like car chases with I kid you not gold plated cars, a wild lion chasing down baddies, and legit hoverboard action that puts Back To The Future to shame for eternity. It's mental, and I loved it but I can easily see this being a turn off for most viewers. It is that kinda cheesy, outlandish, ridiculous action movie that could be scoffed and brushed off by the viewing public at large. You have to like absurd action movies to really enjoy this. But I also have to commend that not only does the film actually take place in several real world places, they actually shoot in London, on these choppy water rapids, in these middle eastern cities, and cap it off in Dubai with the Burj Khalifa which is really awesome that they had the capability and budget to do all this for real, and only used CG when necessary, but what really stunned me is about 85% maybe more of the dialogue is in mandarin. It's unashamedly a piece of chinese cinema that has been brought to the states with nothing tampered with, and again it kinda breaks my heart that just that one aspect can turn a lot of people off this movie. I don't think a proper foreign film starring Jackie Chan will ever release in the cinemas in my lifetime, it's such a niche market and man that sucks. They put effort into it, they show the behind the scenes, they show the location shooting, they show the effort the actors put into the fighting, and I can't ignore that. Yes. It's silly. But you can have a grand time with it. Jackie is class as always, I like the characters, you get a healthy dose of action throughout, the scenery is great at times, there is good stuff to appreciate. If I was giving an unbiased, objective opinion it would be about a 6.5 maybe a 7/10 but because of the entertainment factor and how much I just appreciate the effort of the crew and this genre, I give it a solid 3.5 stars, 8/10! Suicide Squad next week so let's dip back into some DC goodies, see you then.