Review of The Foreigner (2017) by Wayne K — 30 Sep 2017

Featuring committed and intense performance from Jackie Chan & Pierce Brosnan, The Foreigner plunders current affairs and the ever-present threat of terroristic threats for its story material, crafting a thriller which is both exciting and consistently engaging.

The excellent pacing, a credit to former Bond director Martin Campbell, meant I was never bored for a second, and while the plot and indeed the dialogue may become muddled and difficult to decipher through all the twists and turns the already complicated plot follows, with the usual round of betrayals and surprise reveals, it's always an enjoyable watch.

It's great to see Jackie Chan back in action, and his fight scenes, while too closely shot and hyperactively edited most of the time, still bare all the hallmarks of his usual routines, from the inventive use of weapons to the ingenuous application of the environments.

The central premise feels worryingly plausible, since what happens in the film has very much already occurred in our modern, crazy world. Chan's protagonist skirts dangerously close to being a terrorist himself, and many of his actions are questionable, if not downright controversial, but you get a clear idea of what he's doing and, more importantly, why he's doing it.

A riotous action flick that has some brains behind its brawn, The Foreigner is largely a showcase for its 2 leads, but it's a pair of wonderfully complementary performances I'd be happy to see again in the future.