'The Foreigner' Review: Good Film But Why Underutilize Your Star!

This thriller casts Chan in a bracing, dynamic role but then surprisingly wastes that potential as the story sidelines him, focusing instead on other characters in rooms explaining the plot to each other. The Foreigner could have been another Die Hard, with Chan at its center as the guy who gets things done. But the way it pans out, it feels more like he's been reluctantly tacked on and could have easily been removed, that for me is infuriating as everything Chan had to do in the flick was brilliant, wether that be kicking ass verbally, physically or emotionally, they should of definetly had more faith and that will be there downfall. This is not to disparage Brosnan, who gets a great deal more to do.

Rather, the blame rests on the filmmakers, who don't seem to trust that Chan can carry a movie in a visual, nonverbal way. Moreover, the heavy dialogue that drives the movie can be numbingly expository and repetitive at times. Director Martin Campbell stages his scenes in a static way, with characters mainly sitting in rooms or barking into their cell phones. It's too bad; there's a good story here, and both Chan and Brosnan are very good when the movie allows them to be. The Foreigner could have been great entertainment, rather than a mediocre one.