Movie Review: “The Foreigner”

The Foreigner starring Jackie Chan is a great movie with a clean cut storyline. I
always enjoyed watching Jackie Chan in movies, especially since he performs his own
stunts. His superb acting skills can even make you have a laugh or two even if the
movie isn’t meant to be a comedy, Jackie Chan is definitely a great actor. The Foreigner
scored some serious bonus points by starring him.

Jackie Chan plays Quan Ngoc Minh, a father who loses his daughter in a
bombing on a busy London side street. Having experienced loss in his past coupled
with his well-trained combat skills and special forces knowledge, he knew exactly where
to go and what to do next. His goal was to bring punishment to the bombers in order to
avenge his daughter’s death. Chan’s character had to get into contact with whoever
would know the names and locations of the bombers and would never cease his search
for justice until every person involved would pay with their lives. Chan did a superb job
staying one step ahead of his enemies. From crafting homemade bombs to spy-like
action and fights, he achieved his goals effectively and flawlessly. Jackie Chan himself
definitely does not show any signs of slowing down despite being currently 63 years old.
I love this storyline and how simply put yet effective it is. It’s definitely not a complicated
story that’s hard to follow, yet it’s interesting enough to keep the audience’s attention
through to the end.

Now I want to talk you through the camerawork. It’s perfect. The movie starts off
with a cut from a black screen after the logos to an above shot shooting down at a
building where no movement is seen for a few seconds. Suddenly you see a bird walk
out from underneath a breezeway closer to the building that the camera angle doesn’t
show. Then all at once, a mass of people just come out after the bird walked out. Now
the frame switches, and you are immediately in the story’s plot. At first you might be
confused, but then you realize it’s a building that you’re seeing. The lack of initial
movement isn’t what you expect so you might raise your eyebrow in slight confusion but
before you can, the people walk out, the frame switches and thus the movie begins. It
was a simple shot that was effective at grabbing people’s attention. Throughout the
movie, great shots were used that effectively established the settings, revealed
characters at the best times and advanced the plot itself.

Now on to the audio usage of the film. Let’s just say they didn’t have to spend too
much. The film was pretty quiet without much music being played. Music was really only
played during action and high points in the plot. Shorter sounds and effects were played
more than music and were effective at provoking emotions from the audience. The
tense moments came complete with low brass and booming sounds. The little use of
music was genius for this movie as the audience wasn’t distracted from the plot by over
use of music but were instead left to focus on each moment and sound effect and thus
have a better understanding of the movie’s plot and Quan’s struggle. I really love this
approach to audio use for a movie!

The Foreigner has impressed me with visuals, camerawork and audio that
creates a wonderful movie. This movie in its entirety takes on a less-is- more approach,
and they scored big time. It was genius to use simple elements to come together to
make a movie that is easy to understand, sets a clear plot that is pretty airtight,
establishes each shot very professionally and uses audio in the most effective way for
this story and movie style. I’m glad I went to see The Foreigner. I have to admit, Jackie
Chan was the seller for me. I definitely recommend going to the theater and watching
this really cool movie with friends, parents or girlfriend/boyfriends.