October 17, 2017 2 min to read

The Foreigner

Chan's action scenes deliver on the promises the trailer makes - sadly the movie around him didn't.

by Zach Saul

For those unable to sleep and worrying - Jackie Chan is alive and well. In The Foreigner the kicks and punches look just as awesome as they did in Rush Hour 20 years ago. The Foreigner tells the story of an Irish Terrorist attack against a British bank and the icy tensions surrounding the relationship between Irish and British politicians. Then we have Quan (played by Jackie Chan) a relentless grieving father who’s daughter was killed in the attacks and will stop at nothing to avenge her attacks.

The international politics taking place in the backdrop of this movie are really interesting, and propelled my interest in the eventual capture of the Irish bombers. An elected official orchestrating (albeit somewhat indirectly) a terrorist attack while attempting to bargain with a neighbor left in shambles and facing the pressure, made for a great setup. The problem is that we don’t get enough detail or character building to really connect with the plight of anyone besides Quan.

The Foreigner contains shades of Liam Neeson in the taken movies, as Quan is utterly relentless in his pursuit of “the names” (of those associated with the bombing). However it’s emotional resonance falls short of similar action movies because it’s villains lack a presence throughout the film, and it’s protagonist is overly stereotypical. Although bland characters are a trope in action films, casting Jackie Chan as an ex-military stud turned humble owner of a Chinese Restaurant feels especially uninventive to me. At times Quan’s pursuit of answers feels aimless as he endangers the innocent in addition to the perpetrators, and that recklessness gave my rotting interest in Chan’s character several moments of pause. This felt particularly disappointing because at several moments the film had an opportunity to explore the moral and political nuance of vigilanteism and chose instead to gloss over it.

The Good: Elements of The Foreigner are extremely fun. The action sequences are well shot, and inventive - and Jackie Chan made the most out of an unimaginative character assignment to deliver a good performance. The mystery surrounding the giant political conspiracy between the Irish government and the Irish vigilante wing is also a source of energy in this movie, and its immensely satisfying to watch this film’s climax.

The Bad: The Foreigner is infuriatingly deficient in character development. For most movies in this genre the cinematography, score or direction isn’t what gets people in the door the action sequences and the characters are. And while the action sequences are present in The Foreigner, the Protagonist and the Villains are too often absent and as a viewer I was left questioning the intensions of both parties.