Post-apocalypse film fans: You'll be disappointed by this horrible film

I just finished viewing this film, and for the life of me I simply cannot see any reason whatsoever why anyone would recommend this film to anyone else.

I openly admit that I'm an obsessive fan of Post-Apocalyptic (PA) films, not just the usual "zombie" flicks, but films that deal specifically with the challenges of surviving the end of society/civilization, etc. I recently read a feature on QuietEarth.us (a great PA film site) listing 30 different PA films, some of which were so obscure, I hadn't seen them. Listed among them was The Vanguard. It was listed along with some great PA films, like The Road, The Signal, 28 Days Later, Blindness, Cargo, The Mist, and I think you get the picture.

How this film was lumped in with the rest is a complete mystery to me, because this film is so incredibly undeserving of such company. This film, literally, looks like it was thrown together by some half-wit film students who went caravanning for a fortnight on an Army base somewhere in the forests of England and decided to make a film from their drunken escapades.

This film is completely incoherent. And having just watched the entire film, I'm still not sure what this story is about, because there's very little story telling here. Over 90% of this film is nothing more than the main character running through the woods, while anonymous, mean-looking, mohawked soldiers fire thousands of rounds through automatic weapons, all without hitting anything?! It's not even clear who exactly they are firing at, due to some horrible editing. It's just a mottled mess of gunfire and panning shots trying to keep up with said character hopping through the woods.

The main character is, in a word, boring. He looks like a Starbuck's employee reject, wielding his weapons with almost feminine movement. He's tries so hard to look "action hero", but it seems almost comical, not unlike the "light sabre kid" from YouTube. In fact, the kids that meet at a park near my home to spar with their kendo swords look more impressive than this guy.

And the zombies/infected? Simple extras with some lines of eyeliner scribbled across their faces, trotting through the woods trying their best to look like chimps. There's nothing at all threatening about them. It's seems like some harsh language would be enough to repel them?

There is no redeeming cinematic value to this film. There's no deep, abstract meaning here. There's no "experimental" movie making that appeals only to the sophisticates among us. Everything about it simply fails.

And as a fan of the genre, I hope to warn other fans that this isn't a movie you're likely to enjoy. Considering all the disappointments I've suffered hoping to catch a decent PA film, this is the most disappointing film I've ever watched. Resist the temptation. I would suggest watching any other PA film you've ever seen a second, or even third time before wasting nearly two hours on this hairball.

The Vanguard fails at everything, except perhaps as a sick joke on its viewers.