Following the death of his daughter at the hands of international terrorists, a former special forces Vietnam veteran goes off the grid to track down her killers and avenge her death. It sounds more like an 80s Stallone or Schwarzenegger vehicle, but what makes The Foreigner stand out is that our protagonist isn't some musclebound meathead, but career funny-man and health insurance nightmare, Jackie Chan.
Hoping to appeal to those who enjoyed the Taken movies, The Foreigner prescribes to the gritty, "realistic" approach to combat and action. This might seem like a far cry from Chan's tradition of swatting swarms of mooks with ladders and chairs, but Chan is an inspired choice. The man is 63 years old, and a lifetime of action movies have left him looking a little rough around the edges. Chan's movies always emphasise vulnerability, presenting him as a terrified underdog who scrapes through every fight. That turns out to be a far more realistic way for someone to behave when you are being chased down by armed police and IRA terrorists. Here, his age and comparatively short stature serve to make him look all the more unassuming, and thus all the more pleasing when he beats men half his age and twice his size.
The real surprise though is just how serious this movie takes itself. There is absolutely none of Chan's characteristic beaming smiles and goofing around. Here he is in a permanent state of anguish, stoically resolved to get his own back no matter what. To think this guy has never been asked to play his roles with gravitas or pathos, because he does an amazing job of it here.
Chan is only one part of the movie, and is absent for long periods of screen time. My guess is that Chan probably doesn't have it in him to do constant action scenes anymore, which is perfectly understandable, but what they have in his absence is far less compelling. There is an entire police investigation and underground terrorist conspiracy taking place that is, whilst a little out of the ordinary (when was the last time we saw the IRA in a movie?), kind of lacklustre. Pierce Brosnan plays a Northern Irish minister with an army of skeletons in the closet. He's having an affair, his wife his having an affair, he's trying to placate the UK gov, and also his former comrades, he's doing his own investigation into the terrorist bombings etc. etc. it all has a role in the story, but it slows the pace of the movie down and draws attention away from the main ticket item; Mr Chan.
The Foreigner seems to have slipped everyone's notice. That's a shame as we are getting a once in a lifetime performance from a guy who's devoted his career to getting punched in the face. It isn't an amazing movie on its own terms, nor in comparison with Jackie Chan's classics, but you should give it a chance.
Film Old Dog, New Tricks
Following the death of his daughter at the hands of international terrorists, a former special forces Vietnam veteran goes off the grid to track down her killers and avenge her death. It sounds more like an 80s Stallone or Schwarzenegger vehicle, but what makes The Foreigner stand out is that our protagonist isn't some musclebound meathead, but career funny-man and health insurance nightmare, Jackie Chan.
Hoping to appeal to those who enjoyed the Taken movies, The Foreigner prescribes to the gritty, "realistic" approach to combat and action. This might seem like a far cry from Chan's tradition of swatting swarms of mooks with ladders and chairs, but Chan is an inspired choice. The man is 63 years old, and a lifetime of action movies have left him looking a little rough around the edges. Chan's movies always emphasise vulnerability, presenting him as a terrified underdog who scrapes through every fight. That turns out to be a far more realistic way for someone to behave when you are being chased down by armed police and IRA terrorists. Here, his age and comparatively short stature serve to make him look all the more unassuming, and thus all the more pleasing when he beats men half his age and twice his size.
The real surprise though is just how serious this movie takes itself. There is absolutely none of Chan's characteristic beaming smiles and goofing around. Here he is in a permanent state of anguish, stoically resolved to get his own back no matter what. To think this guy has never been asked to play his roles with gravitas or pathos, because he does an amazing job of it here.
Chan is only one part of the movie, and is absent for long periods of screen time. My guess is that Chan probably doesn't have it in him to do constant action scenes anymore, which is perfectly understandable, but what they have in his absence is far less compelling. There is an entire police investigation and underground terrorist conspiracy taking place that is, whilst a little out of the ordinary (when was the last time we saw the IRA in a movie?), kind of lacklustre. Pierce Brosnan plays a Northern Irish minister with an army of skeletons in the closet. He's having an affair, his wife his having an affair, he's trying to placate the UK gov, and also his former comrades, he's doing his own investigation into the terrorist bombings etc. etc. it all has a role in the story, but it slows the pace of the movie down and draws attention away from the main ticket item; Mr Chan.
The Foreigner seems to have slipped everyone's notice. That's a shame as we are getting a once in a lifetime performance from a guy who's devoted his career to getting punched in the face. It isn't an amazing movie on its own terms, nor in comparison with Jackie Chan's classics, but you should give it a chance.