THE FOREIGNER: TAKEN FURTHER

Jackie Chan has been making movies far longer than most movie fans realize. His first major role in a movie here in the states came in 1980 in a film called THE BIG BRAWL/BATTLE CREEK BRAWL and the following year he was in CANNONBALL RUN. His big break through came in 1995 with RUMBLE IN THE BRONX. But Chan had been a huge star in his native China as far back as the 70s. Leave it to those of us here to fail to notice him until 20 odd years after his first successes. That all changed and now we have Chan acting in his most serious role to date in a US film.

THE FOREIGNER features Chan as Quan Ngoc Minh, the owner of a small restaurant in London who takes his daughter shopping for a dress one day after school. Before she exits the store a bomb planted in a car out front explodes, killing her and several others. Despondent over the death of his daughter, Quan approaches the local police to find out who was responsible for her death but they have no clue.

Then Quan sees Liam Hennessey (Pierce Brosnan), a former IRA members and now Irish politician claiming the Irish had nothing to do with the bombing. Quan approaches Liam to with a simple request. Tell him the name of the bomber in return for all the money he has. Hennessey continues to deny knowing who is responsible but Quan is persistent.

The story follows two paths as it winds down to an action filled ending. One is that of Quan, who he is and his desire to see nothing more than justice for the death of his daughter. The other is the political climate between Ireland and Britain, peaceful at present but with long lasting feelings of resentment on both sides that foment into violence.

As Hennessey tries to find out who is behind it all Quan continues to be a thorn in his side. Knowing full well that Hennessey is a man not to be trusted, Quan pursues Hennessey and his men to his country estate. Biding his time he waits for the answer he has posed time and time again to Hennessey, who is responsible. It isn’t until late in the film that we finally find out for certain who was behind it all.

The movie felt a lot like the TAKEN films starring Liam Neeson. A daughter affected by the actions of bad men being tracked down by a father with the skills necessary to do them bodily harm. What makes this different, aside from the fact his daughter dies in the opening moments of the film, is the performance provided by Chan here.

For years his persona has revolved around the smiling Chinaman caricature, the bumbling yet acrobatic martial artists who gets by on charm and humor. This time around that humor is non-existent. It’s replaced by a man whose pain at the loss of his daughter palpable. It shows in his eyes, in his body movements and his behavior. This is a Chan that we’re not used to and he does an amazing job here. Sadly enough while it’s a dynamic game changing performance on his part, most will ignore it and focus only on the stunt/action sequences he’s involved in instead.

Director Martin Campbell is no inexperienced director when it comes to action films. With movies like THE MASK OF ZORRO, GOLDENEYE, CASINO ROYALE and EDGE OF DARKNESS in his resume he uses all his skills to make the story here work on all levels. The frustration of a man seeking answers, the duplicity of politicians and the revenge fueled violence that finalizes the film are all deftly handled to make this a movie that touches the heart while satisfying the action fan at the same time.

One can only hope Chan makes more movies like this. He’s said before that he’s always dreamt of an Oscar on his shelf. That may not happen with this film but he shows he has the potential to be a solid actor and not just another martial arts star only. Looking at the films being released by both Jean Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal, Chan shows his acting chops are far and above others in this category. Now if only someone would show the courage to provide him with a role up to his abilities.

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