The Foreigner

London-based restaurateur Quan Ngoc Minh (Jackie Chan) is understandably grief-stricken when his teenage daughter Fan (Katie Leung) dies in a Knightsbridge street bombing executed by a rogue sect calling themselves “authentic IRA” from Northern Ireland. Distraught yet determined to wreak vengeance on the killers, Quan goes to Belfast, where he confronts Irish Deputy Minister Liam Hennessey (Pierce Brosnan), demanding to know who murdered his daughter. When Hennessey refuses to give him the names of the culprits, Quan explodes the former's office bathroom using a device he created out of groceries, and plants another bomb in Hennessey's car, wanting “names.” Relentlessly pursuing former-terrorist-turned-politician Hennessey to his country home, Quan camps out in the woods, scaring the security guards. “I need more men,” growls Hennessey, sending for his New York-based nephew Sean (Rory Fleck-Byrne), an Iraq War veteran. Hennessey is also facing domestic complications in the form of a clash between his conniving wife (Orla Brady) and his much-younger mistress (Charlie Murphy). Based on Stephen Leather's 1992 novel The Chinaman, veteran director Martin Campbell's The Foreigner is a frantic and convoluted but also often entertaining conspiracy thriller. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include interviews with costars Pierce Brosnan (11 min.), Jackie Chan (10 min.), and director Martin Campbell (8 min.), and a “making-of” featurette (2 min.). Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus DVD copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for an uneven but engaging thriller.] (S. Granger)