The Foreigner – A Movie Review

I had the joy this week of taking a day trip to Chicago. It was on the heels of taking a day trip to Nashville where I drove 4.5 hours, had a 5 hour meeting, and drove 4.5 hours back. So I wasn’t about that life. I decided to fly. I also decided that during my flight, I would plan better and instead of just aimlessly listening to music, I would watch some movies! So I downloaded a couple to have ready and off I went.

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Well, off I tried to go. My flight was delayed in the morning because the crew didn’t show up? Then we got on the plane and there were computer problems, but it all got solved and I was only 3 minutes late to my Chicago meeting (but I didn’t get coffee…boo!) My flight back? Delayed. Delayed. Delayed. Delayed. That’s 4 delays and a big fuck you to getting home early to see the kids. They were nice and it was icy and I was actually lucky I got a flight since there were about 50 cancellations for the day. That’s the bad. The good? I got to watch a LOT of movies…4 (FOUR!!) to be exact and I’m here to tell you about them!

I’m actually going to cut back and only tell you about one of them – with a side note. I would recommend Gifted. It was a very good (and real) film about a very smart (gifted) little girl and a dysfunctional family working with custody. So, it has some real elements and it’s honestly a good watch! But I’m going to focus on one movie that blew me away (spoiler alert).

Circle (2015) – 5.9/10
Reprisal (2018) – 4.0/10
Gifted (2017) – 7.4/10

The Foreigner (2017)

The Foreigner should just be titled “Jackie Chan is still a badass” because he is! Jackie Chan used to just be known for doing his own stunts and being super awesome at karate – but he’s always been amazing in my eyes. One of my favorite films is Shanghai Noon with he and Owen Wilson. If you’ve not watched it, go do that!

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Owen Wilson teaching Chan how to shoot and be a cowboy.

Okay, but back to the topic. Jackie Chan is more than just a crazy karate guy. He can actually act! This is the first Chan film I’ve watched in some time and he KILLED it! Amazing job. The Foreigner is about Chan – whose daughter gets killed in a terrorist attack – trying to find the killers and get justice for his daughters unjust death. He finds out who runs a British secret group and he tries to contact him. After many repeated attempts, he decides to show up. Chan plays a very quiet character who wouldn’t be a threat to anyone – until he flips a subtle switch. You later find out he’s an ex-Army ranger and has been through and seen more shit than you can think of.

He makes some bombs of his own and he starts playing his own game (using some martial arts) to get an upper hand on the villains. The story is complete with a twist as well – that I won’t spoil – and really is the total package. It is full of British accents (which get a plus one from me) and has all the intrigue of an action thriller with a mob, secret service, and fun twist at the end. There’s also some incest sex in there, too, I think? Do yourself a favor and check out The Foreigner and let’s resurrect Jackie Chan’s career! This film is badass. So good, actually, that I even recommended it to Craig (a movie snob!). You won’t regret it!

Rating: 8.9/10

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