The Foreigner (2017)
Quan is a humble London businessman whose long-buried past erupts in a revenge-fueled vendetta when the only person left for him to love – his teenage daughter – dies in an Irish Republican Army car bombing. His relentless search to find the terrorists leads to a cat-and-mouse conflict with a British government official whose own past may hold the clues to the identities of the elusive killers.
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Chan was convincing as a distraught father. He should have at least been nominated for an oscar. This movie was much better than critics thought.
I love this movie through and through. I've made all my friends and family watch it, and I've seen it myself no less than a dozen times. It is precisely my cup of tea. Why? Well, I'm not too great at explaining myself or critical thinking on film, but I'll give it a shot.The pacing. Starts out with a bang, dials it way back, then turns up gradually. We don't so much see a mystery unfold as we do go through a process somewhat behind the eyes of Jackie Chan's character. He takes his time, not that he bides it.The fallible hero. Jackie Chan is old. You didn't know? Well he is. And it shows. They don't try to go the Stallone route where he somehow hasn't lost a step and can fight a tank even though he's in his 70's. When he gets hit, it hurts. No more 30 minute long fights with ladders and folding chairs.The villain. Pierce Brosnan is one of my faves, and he turned up a good performance, in my opinion. An ex-extremist gone soft, playing politics. His presence enough would've been enough to satisfy, but he played the part well. Thankfully.The score/soundtrack. Carpenter-esque, and it really sets the tone. Keeps it tense. People who aren't familiar with Carpenter might liken it to the score used in Stranger Things. And I think it's perfect.I guess those are the major points. Now go watch it. It may be the last time you get to see Jackie Chan in a decent movie.
Definitely a watch; very good acting, conspiracy angle, there is a little for everyone here. Watch it with family and friends. Jackie and Pierce have nailed it with an acting which needed a reduction in their known capacities.
As an action movie, this film is excellent. But more to the point, it starkly shows up the tragedy that inevitably ensues when people nurture hatred. In the film, it is the IRA, but it could easily be applied to other places where they are still fighting wars going back as many as 500 years or more.