STX Entertainment has released the first trailer for this fall's action revenge thriller The Foreigner Jackie Chan's live-action return to American cinema.

Besides his voice work as the Monkey in the Kung Fu Panda series, Chan has not starred in an American movie since his role as the Mr. Miyagi stand-in in Jaden Smith's 2010 Karate Kid remake. The legendary Hong Kong martial artist, fresh off a lifetime achievement award at the Oscars this year, makes his triumphant return to the spotlight with The Foreigner. 

Based on the 1992 novel The Chinaman, Chan plays Quan, a man who loses his daughter in a bombing and seeks justice against the rogue Irish bombers who took her from him. Pierce Brosnan plays Gerry Adams, a government official who Quan goes to for information about the bombers. Adams refuses to help him, which sends the former special forces agent on the path of one-man motivated revenge.

Also making a comeback to film with The Foreigner is director Martin Campbell, who is best known for his two James Bond films Goldeneye (which is considered to be Brosnan's best film as the character) and Casino Royale. Campbell himself has not directed a film since the debacle of Green Lantern in 2011, but he has a better track record than not. Out of his prior films, this resembles less The Mask of Zorro and more Edge of Darkness, another revenge action film starring a return from a former big star in Mel Gibson.

The film that The Foreigner most resembles in its trailer is Takenas Campbell and company are hoping that they can springboard off of Jackie Chan's "set of skills" to produce the same sort of gritty, brutal action film success of Liam Neeson's franchise. It's impressive to see the physicality that Chan can continue to bring to the role even as he creeps towards 70 years old. The man made a career of putting his body through hell for the sake of the practical stunt, and it made him one of the biggest international movie stars ever. The majority of his popularity in America has been limited to the action-comedy Rush Hour  franchise, but this looks like a gritty showcase for his talents that we haven't seen in years.

It also helps to have a great actor like Brosnan in the mix, as the two former action stars should make for solid foils for each other. Brosnan is also approaching 70, but it'd be nice to see him get involved in some of the carnage that Chan is wreaking across Ireland. The Foreigner opens nationwide on October 13, going up against biopic Marshall and horror film Happy Death Day

Source: STX Entertainment 

Key Release Dates

  • The Foreigner Movie Poster
    The Foreigner
    Release Date:
    2017-10-13