Action Blu-ray Review

'The Foreigner' Blu-ray Review: Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan bring dramatic depth to this revenge-thriller

January 30, 2018Ben MK



FEATURE: 
Best known for his lighthearted action films, Jackie Chan's turn in director Martin Campbell's The Foreigner is one of those rare performances where the martial arts superstar gets to showcase his serious side.

Playing a former special forces-trained soldier turned restaurant owner named Quan Ngoc Minh who loses his daughter, Fan (Katie Leung), in the IRA bombing of a London bank, Chan brings a quiet dignity to his heartbreaking portrayal of a father seeking both answers and justice in his child's death. But when he's denied both, Quan — who's essentially got nothing left to lose — goes after the one man whom he thinks knows more than he's letting on: Irish Deputy Minister Liam Hennessy (Pierce Brosnan).

A man caught between a rock and a hard place, to put it mildly, Hennessy is a politician with a dark past, who finds himself under pressure from both the British government and his former associates in the IRA to deliver results that will appease both sides. So when Quan starts applying his own brand of pressure on Hennessy — planting homemade explosives on Hennessy's property and roughing up his imposing security personnel — you can be assured that it's only a matter of time before one side gives in.

Suffice to say, both Chan and Brosnan bring substantial dramatic depth to their roles, which bodes well for The Foreigner's ability to be taken more seriously than your average revenge-thriller. However, that being said, if you're simply looking to see Jackie Chan dole out some old-fashioned hurt on his opponents, you won't be entirely disappointed either.

AUDIO & VISUALS: 
Colors may be on the muted side and its visuals may not be as slick as the likes of Liam Neeson's Taken series, but the detail seen in the exteriors of London and in the cuts and scrapes on Chan's face lend credence to the fact that The Foreigner's 1080p transfer is top quality indeed. Likewise, the movie's first half may be surprisingly subdued in the sound department, but once Quan embarks on his self-appointed mission, the accompanying Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track doesn't fail to deliver on the familiar sounds of gunfire, explosions and hand-to-hand combat.

EXTRAS: 
VVS Films' single-disc Blu-ray release includes the following Blu-ray extras:

  • Interviews (30:57) - Director Martin Campbell and stars Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan talk about the story, the tone of the movie, the characters, the performances, working with each other, what attracted them to the film, and more.
  • Forces Featurette (2:14) - A brief look at the story and the characters.

The Foreigner is available from VVS Films as of January 23rd, 2018. The Blu-ray features English and French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 tracks and is presented with English and French subtitles. The total runtime is 1 hr. 53 min.






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