The Foreigner

The Foreigner (2017)

54% on Rotten Tomatoes (out of 59 reviews)

Runtime: 114 minutes

Directed by: Martin Campbell

Starring: Jackie Chan, Pierce Brosnan, Michael McElhatton, Dermot Crowley, Charlie Murphy (no, not that one; this is actually an Irish actress)

From: STX and many other companies, most of them Chinese

As an aside, maybe I should be more careful in where and when I see a film. Once again, the crowd at a theatrical experience I was at wasn't great, and thus I wanted to break the noses of several people but in actuality I just stared them down as I walked out of the auditorium at the movie's end.

Anyhow, last night I saw this movie's premiere. I was interested; as the movie's marketing stressed, Jackie Chan would be appearing in a film getting a wide release in the United States for the first time in a long while; in fact, if you discount a movie I always will presume is atrocious (the Karate Kid remake) it's been almost a solid decade. Plus, judging by the trailers he was doing some acts you'd expect from a villain. I realize he was mad because Pierce Brosnan was not giving him help he thought he'd be able to give in the wake of Jackie's daughter dying in a London bombing attack but it was still a surprise as at least in the past 40 years he has turned down roles-including those in Hollywood films-where he'd be the villain as he only wanted to be seen as the hero in China.

As this is brand new I won't spoil anything important, or who should be considered the heroes and villains in this movie. I'll just mention that while it's explained in the movie, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) is an important plot point. I am old enough to remember them but I imagine some of you have no idea. Basically, in the latter half of the 20th century there were extremely violent clashes over a segment of the population wishing Northern Ireland would not be a part of the United Kingdom and instead be united with the Republic of Ireland. In addition, Chan was in his early 60's when he made this movie so it's no surprise he doesn't do his astounding martial arts like he used to (or with such frequency); that said, what you do see is still entertaining, plus it's a nice change of pace for me to see him act and emote.

This isn't great and some aspects of the plot can certainly be questioned. Even then, I thought this was a good time; as I heard someone else mentioned, the style of this and even the musical score will remind you of a certain crime drama director. I understand this is based on an early 90's book (which explains the IRA elements) and that is also why Jackie is playing a Vietnamese man; he was a producer on this so he was OK with playing a different nationality. The story doesn't always mesh well together but I can still say I was entertained by this picture.