‘The Foreigner’ shows sides of Chan and Bronsan we have never seen
By Drew Henderson
It has been a while since the mainstream audience has seen Jackie Chan in any movies, save for his work in animation such as Kung-Fu Panda and the Lego Ninjago Movie, “The Foreigner” sees the return of this action hero, with excellent out of character performances from both Chan and Pierce Brosnan, however the story in general is pretty forgettable and cliché. The story goes as such, with Chan’s character, Minh Quan, hunting down the bombers responsible for killing his family, while also having to use the skills he learned in his dark past as a US marine. From the marketing material, one would expect a movie that is reminiscent of Taken, but “The Foreigner” is more of a political-thriller, as Pierce Bronson’s character, Liam Hennessy, is a former member of the IRA, the group responsible for the bombing, and a government official tasked with finding out who carried out the bombing.
The story plays out in a cliché fashion, as Quan keeps terrorizing Hennessy in hopes of being able to find the terror cell responsible for the killing of his daughter, but two things make this movie enjoyable and that is the performances from the two leads and the action. Chan shows a different side than were use to, as he portrays a man broken down by the hardships of his past and has nothing left to loose, rather than some of the lighter roles that he’s been accustomed to portraying. Bronson also portrays the role of a villain, something not common for the former Bond actor, as Hennessy stops at nothing to contain and kill the rouge cell in his organization. Both of these actors elevate the story to an enjoyable flick.
The action in the film is also pretty good and shows that even though Jackie Chan is older, he is still able to amazing in fight scenes, with a certain scene being a proven testament, that Chan is still able to be a great action star. Overall, “The Foreigner” was not the revenge film I was expecting it to be, but if nothing else popular is playing in your theaters, then this movie is an all right popcorn flick.