CHARACTER RIBBING

“Insubordinate,” narrates Chiké Okonkwo’s Arthur Kingsley. “Churlish.” He’s describing the conduct of Australian comrade Lucas Riggs – but the word choice comes straight from Key and Peele’s most famous sketch, Substitute Teacher. It’s an unfavourable comparison: for a shooter that puts so much focus on its script, there’s never quite enough zip or verve to Vanguard’s dialogue. We get the sense that Riggs and his fellow Rats Of Tobruk are meant to bring the banter, but despite some spirited smirking from actor Nikolai Nikolaeff, the material just isn’t there on the page. Meanwhile, we’re told that the pilot Wade Jackson has a way with a tall tale – yet his story is delivered straight by Kingsley, a disappointingly reliable narrator. Perhaps it’s simply that we’re already familiar with Okonkwo’s voice work from the Calm app’s soporific Sleep Stories, but Vanguard’s story almost has us slumbering by the end.