Vanguard

Summary
New York City in the late 1980s finds two brothers with different lifestyles. Bobby Green, played by Joaquin Phoenix, leads an amoral lifestyle as a night club manager, while he his brother, Joseph Grusinsky, played by Mark Wahlberg, earns recognition for his duty as a lieutenant of the New York City Police Department. Bobby is then faced with the responsibility of assisting the NYPD with the capture of a Russian drug lord after his brother is nearly killed by an assassination attempt organized by the same Russian mafia leader. The leader then focuses his murderous intentions on the entire Grusinsky family, including NYPD Deputy Chief Burt Grusinsky (Robert Duvall), Bobby and Joseph's father and Amada (Eva Mendez), Bobby's girlfriend.

Acting
Every actor of this film gave a strong performance. Each actor was well-suited to his or her role in the movie. But, the roles played were well inside the comfort zones for these actors. There were no real surprises or memorable moments--although one could argue the script was to blame.

Special Effects
The special effects of this movie were mostly stunt related. The movie contains a very realistic and painful-looking fall that really makes the audience cringe. However, the makeup effects, such as those found on Joseph Grusinsky after he is shot, seem amateurish.

Storyline
The storyline is strong but unoriginal. There are no surprises found in the script. The movie hardly held this moviegoers' attention. There were several times during the movie the story simply needed a quicker pace.
There is a subplot involving Amada and Bobby and their relationship that hardly seems necessary to the script. The relationship seems oddly strong amid the amoral and drug-soaked lifestyle the two characters lead early in the movie.

Overall
This movie is best for a DVD rental. That way, you can go get popcorn or take a phone call when the movie slows to a snail's pace. While the movie was not bad, it lacked the power and fire that one can find much more of in cop movies such as "The Departed."

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