![]() That The Foreigner takes even the briefest of moments to attach genuine pathos to Chan's character is probably a testament to Jackie Chan as a person (or at least as a personality). I like the Taken movies and their ilk just fine but it's usually a fairly A-to-B logical connection that takes an outwardly average man (albeit one with a particular set of skills) and sets him on a path to revenge: "they" took/killed/framed his MacGuffin family member and he wants Revenge. That's a choice.Īnyway, The Foreigner is extremely competently directed which shouldn't be a surprise Martin Campbell knows his way around action-centric espionage-skirting thrillers, having helmed GoldenEye (1995) and Casino Royale (2006).īut what really sings for me here is - and this should come as no surprise if you read my stuff - Jackie Chan! Jackie is older and wiser now than when I fell in love with him (aren't we all) but he's still excellent and, what's more, he's Acting! Jackie has always had charisma, and of course the complete mastery of movement within the physical world, but he's fucking crying here and it sent me (did I use that correctly?)! What I mean is, I was settling in for a tight little revenge thriller and I suddenly felt the weight of the sorrow that motivated that revenge. Asian American, please." for another 6 years!) but Marconi went ahead and changed THAT bit of phrasing, yet left all the dumps. Walter from The Big Lebowski would not explain that "Chinaman is not the preferred nomenclature. The novel was originally called The Chinaman (it was the early 90's. To be fair, this IS based on a novel by Stephen Leather, so the fault may originate there but that's no excuse really. But when your characters espionage coded lingo includes them asking each other about their "dumps" and saying things like "I've been checking your dumps" and "All my dumps are in order", you're just begging me to still care about any tension in the scene. The difference is that this is a little more somber in tone than either of those. ![]() But with the pandemic induced release of No Time To Die delayed until the end of the year, I thought maybe some of you needed a James Bond-esque fix.ĭialogue-wise, this comes from screenwriter David Marconi, writer of Enemy of the State (1998) and Live Free or Die Hard (2007) which both also feature some goof troop dialogue as well. When a government official (Pierce Brosnan) neglects to help him get revenge, Chan sets out on a quest for vengeance. Jackie Chan plays a London man with a shadowy past whose daughter dies in an IRA bombing. The Foreigner is a solid espionage/revenge thriller which suffers from some odd choices, the most noticeable being some of the dialogue, and a few instances of really sloppy editing. MPAA rating: R for violence, language and some sexual material Starring Jackie Chan, Pierce Brosnan, Charlie Murphy ![]() Written by David Marconi, based on a novel by Stephen Leather
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |