The Foreigner (2017 film)
| The Foreigner | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Martin Campbell |
| Produced by |
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| Screenplay by | David Marconi |
| Based on | The Chinaman by Stephen Leather |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Cliff Martinez |
| Cinematography | David Tattersall |
| Edited by | Angela M. Catanzaro |
Production
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| Distributed by | STXfilms |
Release date
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Running time
| 114 minutes[1] |
| Country |
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| Language | English |
| Budget | $35 million[2] |
| Box office | $140.4 million[2] |
The Foreigner is a 2017 American-British neo-noir action thriller film directed by Martin Campbell and written by David Marconi, based on the 1992 novel The Chinaman by Stephen Leather. The British-Chinese co-production stars Jackie Chan, Pierce Brosnan, Michael McElhatton, Liu Tao, Charlie Murphy, Orla Brady and Katie Leung, and follows a businessman who seeks revenge for the death of his daughter.
The Foreigner was released in China on 30 September 2017, in the United States on 13 October 2017 and in the United Kingdom in December 2017 on Netflix. It grossed $140 million worldwide and received mixed reviews, although critics praised the against the type performances of Chan and Brosnan.[3]
Contents
[hide]Plot[edit]
Ngoc Minh Quan is a retired Vietnam War special operations forces soldier who now runs a Chinese restaurant in London. When his teenage daughter Fan is killed in a clothing store bombing claimed by a group calling themselves the "Authentic IRA", a distraught Quan seeks revenge. He first attempts to bribe Scotland Yard officer Richard Bromley for the names of the bombers, but Bromley refuses to accept the bribe nor reveal any information. Quan next focuses on the Northern Ireland deputy First Minister Liam Hennessy, who speaks publicly about his status as a former leader of the IRA forces while condemning the bombing. Keyi Lam, Quan's co-worker and personal friend, attempts to console and convince him to move on, but he refuses to be swayed and eventually leaves for Belfast to meet Hennessy. Hennessy claims to have no knowledge of the bombing or its perpetrators, but Quan does not believe him. His queries escalate until he becomes fixated on Hennessy, setting off a homemade bomb in his office and threatening more unless he gets the bombers' names.
The truth is that Hennessy, while having ordered the bombings to come with warnings as part of a political ploy to solidify the radical factions, does not actually know who the bombers are, as they are rogue members of the IRA. He is in fact outraged that no warnings were given and civilians were killed. Hennessy tries to identify the bombers by changing the code words they use after any bombings are carried out, but the rogue members catch on and outwit him. Meanwhile, he sends numerous mercenaries and personal enforcers after Quan, who manages to escape or defeat all of them. He also observes Hennessy meeting with his mistress, Maggie, and takes a picture of them kissing. Quan then brings the fight to Hennessy, hiding in the woods outside his Belfast farmhouse and attacking it with more homemade bombs. As Hennessy's men attempt to track him in the woods, Quan uses traps to disable a group of three and attempts to interrogate one of them, but he is shot in the shoulder by a fourth mercenary and flees. Hennessy decides to send for his nephew Sean Morrison, who was part of the Royal Irish Regiment with Bromley, after Quan in hopes that his tracking skills can be used to stop him for good.
As Quan heats up a knife to cauterize the gunshot wound, he faints and has flashbacks of his escape from Vietnam to Singapore where he and his family are attacked by Thai pirates. He and his wife look on hopelessly as his two daughters are taken away, to be raped and murdered by the pirates. As he tried to fight off the pirates, he and his wife were shot and both fell overboard. His wife later died giving birth to their daughter, Fan.
After a second bombing on a double-decker bus, Hennessy negotiates with British politician Katherine Davies, and promises the capture of the bombers in exchange for the pardoning of some of his former IRA comrades. Meanwhile, Bromley manages to identify the bombers and relays their identities to Hennessy, who then relays the information to Sean. After a knife fight in the woods, Quan manages to capture Sean, who reveals the name of one of the bombers: Patrick O'Reilly, who was also behind the bombing that killed Quan's daughter. In return, Quan decides to let Sean go. Hennessy, meanwhile, interrogates his head enforcer McGrath, discovering that the true mastermind is Mary, Hennessy's wife, who also hired Maggie; she has never let go of her anger at the British for the death of her brother and resents Hennessy's working for them. Hennessy executes McGrath for his betrayal and for involving his wife and mistress, then orders Sean to execute Mary—with whom Sean is having an affair—before returning to America.
As the police prepare to raid the bombers' hideout, Quan manages to enter first under the pretense of fixing a gas leak and single-handedly kills all but Maggie. Quan leaves just before the police raid the apartment and find a severely wounded Maggie, whose real name is Sara McKay. They torture her into revealing the location of their next bomb, which has been planted in a laptop to be detonated on a plane heading to a security conference. British police manage to find and throw the laptop into an empty jet bridge, where it detonates without casualties. With the threat resolved, Bromley orders the operation leave "no loose ends" and Maggie is executed. Hennessy gets a call from Davies, who tells him that he will retain his position as a politician but will be under her thumb.
Quan confronts Hennessy and shows him the picture of Hennessy kissing Maggie, which is enough to throw suspicion on Hennessy and his role in the bombings. Quan forces him to post the picture to the internet, telling him that he should be ashamed of himself and the whole world will know that he is a terrorist. Meanwhile, Bromley realizes Quan's role in the events and has him put under surveillance, but decides not to take any further action.
The film ends with Quan returning to his restaurant, and Lam embracing him as he puts the past behind him.
Cast[edit]
- Jackie Chan as Ngoc Minh Quan, a former Vietnam War special forces operator turned London restaurateur, who looks for revenge after his daughter is killed in a bombing
- Pierce Brosnan as Liam Hennessy, a former IRA member turned politician.
- Michael McElhatton as Jim Kavanagh, Liam's right hand man
- Liu Tao as Keyi Lam
- Charlie Murphy as Maggie/Sara McKay, Liam's mistress
- Orla Brady as Mary Hennessy, Liam's wife
- Katie Leung as Fan[4][5]
- Ray Fearon as Commander Richard Bromley, British head of counter terrorism command
- Dermot Crowley as Hugh McGrath, one of the villains and the leader of a rogue IRA group
- Rory Fleck-Byrne as Sean Morrison, ex-Royal Irish Ranger/UK Special Forces and Liam's nephew.
- Lia Williams as Katherine Davies, British minister and politician
- Pippa Bennett-Warner as Marissa Levitt
- Manolo Cardona as Pedro Lopez
- Simon Kunz as Matthew Rice
- Roberta Taylor as Mrs. Taylor
- Rufus Jones as Ian Wood
- Niall McNamee as Patrick O'Reilly, who was responsible for the 1st bombing which killed Quan's Daughter.
Production[edit]
On 5 June 2015 it was announced that Jackie Chan would star in the action thriller film The Foreigner, for STX Entertainment, and based on Stephen Leather's novel The Chinaman.[6] Nick Cassavetes initially signed to direct the film, which was adapted from Leather's novel by David Marconi, while Wayne Marc Godfrey was one of the producers.[7] The film is partially set in London's Chinatown.[6] On 15 July 2015, Deadline reported that Martin Campbell was instead in talks to direct the film, while Relativity Media would finance.[7] Pierce Brosnan joined the cast alongside Chan in November. Co-stars Liu Tao and Chan attended the Shanghai Film Festival on 11 June, 2016 to promote the film.[8]
Principal photography commenced in January 2016. The filming in London of a scene involving the explosion of a bus on Lambeth Bridge caused widespread alarm, as people were not aware that it was a stunt.[9] Scenes were shot at the Walters & Cohen designed Regent High School in Camden and on Churton Street in Pimlico on 18 February 2016.[citation needed]
This marked the first time in which Brosnan starred in a film directed by Martin Campbell since the 1995 film GoldenEye.
Cliff Martinez composed the score.
Release[edit]
The Fyzz Facility produced, and is distributing, the film, in association with Sparkle Roll Media and Huayi Brothers, while STXfilms distributes it theatrically across the United States of American.
It was released on 30 September 2017 in China and 13 October 2017 in the United States. In the United Kingdom in was released in December 2017 on Netflix. A DVD and Blu-ray released in the United States in January 2018.
Box office[edit]
As of 24 December 2017, The Foreigner has grossed $35.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $115 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $145.5 million, against a production budget of $45 million.[2]
In the United States and Canada, the film opened alongside Happy Death Day, Marshall and Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, and was expected to gross $10–15 million from 2,55→5 theaters in its opening weekend.[10] It made $4.8 million on its first day, including $855,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to open to $15.5 million, finishing third at the box office behind Happy Death Day and Blade Runner 2049.[11]
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 62% based on 89 reviews, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Foreigner adheres strictly to action thriller formula, but benefits from committed—and out of character—performances from its talented veteran stars."[12] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 55 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[13] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[11]
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three out of four stars and praised Chan's performance, saying: "It's the most dramatic role Chan has ever tackled, and he plays it with coiled intensity and raw emotional power."[14] Clarence Tsui of The Hollywood Reporter also praised Chan, writing, "It's good to see Chan swapping his happy-go-lucky persona for two hours for some gravitas as a tragic rogue with a marked past."[15]
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