Review of The Foreigner (2017) by Donald L — 09 Nov 2017

I loved seeing Jackie Chan still doing interesting and sometimes surprising action sequences, and it was enough for three stars worth of enjoyment. I also completely bought in to the back story of an IRA bombing in London that kicks off Chan's character's relentless search for the people who killed his daughter.

The book on which the movie was based was written in the time when such events were more commonplace. The idea supporting the update, though, that the underlying IRA hatred of the British occupation has continued to simmer for 19 years of intervening "peace" and would find a way to reassert itself, was entirely plausible.

Liam Hennessy [Brosnan] seemed the perfect incarnation of a "terrorist" who has adapted to the political reality that allows him to accumulate enough power and influence to feel comfortable orchestrating the reminder to the Brits, intended to be relatively benign [no one was supposed to get hurt].

The lesson that long-repressed anger, resentment and hatred can't be released in the delicate, controlled manner a politician would like in order to create a lever for manipulation deftly unfolds as we learn about the people attached to the "names" Chan pursues.

The unraveling of Hennessy's slickness and polish, the reveal of his calculated ruthlessness, the horrifying effects on the people in his orbit and his casual complicity in that fascinated me. I went to see an action movie with one of my favorite stars of the genre.

I came away feeling I had seen a well-orchestrated and superbly acted political thriller in which the final confrontation between Chan and Brosnan was the destination for the journey. The arrival at the destination is a moment of satisfaction followed by dismay because Hennessy retains his power and gets some of what he initially wanted.

We don't know if Quan [Chan] exposing Hennessey's character to the world will be fatal to his villainous impulses or not. I lean heavily toward not.