The Foreigner

In recent years, Hollywood has treated Jackie Chan as a cartoon.  I mean this literally, as most of his recent English speaking roles have been in animated features such as the Kung Fu Panda films, The Nut Job 2, and the recent Lego Ninjago Movie.  In The Foreigner, Chan not only gets to prove that he still has what it takes to be an action star at age 63, but it also gives him his most serious and challenging role in a film.  I found myself just as impressed by his dramatic acting as I was by his stunts, which he still performs by himself.

Chan brings plenty of emotional power to his role as Quan Ngoc Minh, a seemingly-unassuming Chinese man living in London, and making a living running a restaurant.  But then his life becomes shattered when his teenage daughter (Katie Leung) is killed in a terrorist bomb blast.  Having lost his wife and previous children in a tragedy that we slowly learn of during the course of the film, losing his last remaining family member sends him spiraling into a deep depression that generates some of the best acting I have seen from Chan.  There is a scene where he is standing in his daughter's bedroom, looking about at her belongings left behind, that is just heartbreaking.  He doesn't cry or manipulate our emotions.  We simply see the pain and empty shell he has become, and it is such a stunningly powerful moment of grief.

Eventually, Quan finds out that the perpetrators behind the bombing were a group of Northern Irish radicals who call themselves the New IRA.  He becomes obsessed with learning the identities behind the attack, and even goes so far as to attempt to bribe a London police investigator (Ray Fearon) for information.  When that doesn't work, he turns to deputy minister Liam Hennessy (Pierce Brosnan, wonderful here), whom Quan finds out has a background with the IRA.  However, Liam either doesn't know anything, or more likely is not willing to come forward with the info.  Certain that he is not telling the truth, Quan decides to use his special training as a government soldier to wage a personal war on Liam, get the names of the people responsible, and ultimately get vengeance by any means necessary.  As the plot grows (and it does get quite convoluted by the end), we are nonetheless kept going by Chan's performance, as well as his physical ability during the action sequences.

The Foreigner manages to be tightly wound, thanks to a script by David Marconi that despite having a number of subplots, never loses sight on the hero or his simple quest to find his own kind of justice.  He knows that getting at the people responsible for the death of his daughter will not solve anything, but he simply must have some kind of closure, and it must be performed by him.  Chan makes his performance very low key, which makes it all the more fun when he starts wiring up crude bombs, and stealth booby traps for Liam's hired goons to fall into.  It's impossible not to think of the Taken films with Liam Neeson when you're watching this, as both are about a father with a violent past who is forced to use their knowledge to get back at people who have hurt him.  But whereas Taken was essentially a violent fantasy (and become more over the top with the sequels), this movie takes a much more subtler and grittier tone, and is much better for it.

Director Martin Campbell (Green Lantern) also knows how to keep tensions high, so that the action never slows down.  There's political turmoil, a lot of backstabbing and shady government secrets thrown about the plot, which manages to be fun to follow even if it does get a big heavy near the end.  But, everybody knows you go to a Jackie Chan movie for the stunts and action, and there are some nice set pieces here, especially the climactic one.  The action here is a lot more brutal than what we have usually seen from Chan, but it still features plenty of his daring stunts and narrow escapes that we have come to expect.  And really, it's just nice to see him getting to do his stuff again.  This may be the darkest role he has tackled, but it still is undeniable who he is and what he can do.

The Foreigner is strong as an action showpiece for its star, but it's also intriguing and highly emotional, and just a wonderful opportunity to show off Chan's acting skills that some English speaking audience members have not gotten to see.  As much as I enjoyed the action on display, it was his dramatic performance that really grabbed my attention here.  This is a movie that surprised me, and in the best way possible.

0 comments