The Foreigner (Theaters-September 2017; Streaming-January 2018) Rated: R Runtime: 
113-114 minutes
Genre: Action-Crime-Drama-Mystery-Suspense-Thriller
els – 7.0/10
IMDb – 7.1/10
Amazon – 4.6/5 stars
Rotten Tomatoes Critics – 5.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes Audience – 3.8/5
Metacritic Metascore – 55/100
Metacritic User Score – 7.1/10
Directed by: Martin Campbell
Written by: David Marconi (screenplay), Stephan Leather (novel)
Music by: Cliff Martinez
Cast: Jackie Chan, Pierce Brosnan
Film Locations: London, England; Larne, Northern Ireland
Budget: $35,000,000
Worldwide Box Office: $140,793,485
Quan (Chan), a widower, lives a quiet London life, looking after his only daughter and his restaurant, his only major concerns are the boys chasing after his beloved teenaged girl. Then a new IRA faction blows up a bank, killing his little girl, who was shopping at a dress shop adjacent to the bank, and Quan’s life and priorities change. He wants to know who killed his daughter, who was responsible. He wants justice. When the officials are unable to give him any names or promise any arrests, soon, he organizes his vigilante squad of one and slowly narrows down the possibilities; Jackie Chan style, but without malice for dogs or the innocent.
Jackie Chan steps past his normal fun side, giving the audience a taste of his drama and emotional acting abilities, and proves that his serious character portrayals are real, believable and effective. Not since his role as a morose handyman in the 2010 Karate Kid have I seen him in such a convincing dramatic role, but this time the screenplay (Marconi) and supporting actors are not relegating him to a least common denominator of mediocrity and cheesiness. The screenplay flows well, it’s coherent, and has enough twists to keep you guessing, but it does have a flaw, and unfortunately its a big one. Brosnan’s Liam Hennessy role is muddled, his level of involvement and guilt in the IRA bombing is never completely resolved. Maybe it’s intentional but it adds clutter to the plot and its conclusion. That aside, this is a typical Martin Campbell film, full of action, intrigue and entertainment, always spot on and fun; ok, maybe the Green Hornet was a dud, but usually his films are a must see, as is this one.
This was a fun action-drama to watch. Jackie Chan displays what made him famous, his martial arts moves, but in the film he also displays his serious side and lets us know that, yes, he can play that part.
elsToday 