Although the big action heroes from the eighties and nineties are slowly starting to get old, some continue to make films in the genre as if they were still young. That sometimes produces even more entertaining films, but sometimes an actor has to face reality and adjust the type of roles they play. This may be especially true for Jackie Chan. He is of course well-known for his extreme stunts and fights, but when you get older, things like that aren’t as easy to pull off anymore. You can also see that in the type of roles he has been playing. He has done more voice work and also in his physical roles he does less (think of The Karate Kid or Chinese Zodiac). You can also see this in The Foreigner. A serious role, without his typical humor
Quan Ngoc Minh (Jackie Chan) is a single father who lives in London with his daughter. Together they are on their way to a clothing store to buy a dress. But they end up being at the wrong time, at the wrong place. A bomb explodes and the daughter does not survive. Quan wants to know who is responsible for the attack and will do anything in order to get an answer to his question. He suspects that the Northern Irish leader Liam Hennessy (Pierce Brosnan) knows more.
The concept of the film, a father who wants answers, is good. The opening in which the attack takes place, Quan moruning the death of his daughter and the process of finding the perpetrators feel realistic. Quan is not willing to let go get his answers, but it does not take long before he actually turns into something which is best compared to a psycho. Based on minimal information, he is convinced that Liam Hennessy knows who was responsible and he places bombs to intimidate. From that moment on, the film is a mix of political intrigue, terrorism and revenge that do not always gel. In addition, director Martin Campbell can not resist putting in a number of moments that do not fit at all, such as when Quan briefly trains his muscles by pushing a car up a hill or when Chan during a fight looks at his fancy footwork in a surprised manner, which is normally used as a joke in his films. The Foreigner has its exciting moments and interesting action scenes, but because of its strange tone it is still a disappointing film.
never mess with Jackie Chan 😉