The Foreigner (2017)
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A retired special forces operator seeks justice for his daughter's death in a terrorist bombing in London.
The story
Ngoc Minh Quan, a Chinese-Vietnamese-British widower and former special forces operator, runs a restaurant in London. Following the death of his daughter, Fan, in a terrorist bombing in Knightsbridge, Quan becomes determined to find those responsible. He navigates a complex web of political tensions, involving local authorities and a former IRA leader in Belfast. As he pursues the truth behind the attack, he faces dangerous obstacles and must decide how far he is willing to go to find justice for his lost family.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Ngoc Minh Quan, a Vietnam War veteran and former special forces operator, runs a restaurant in London. After his daughter Fan is killed in a terrorist bombing, Quan seeks the names of the bombers. He travels to Belfast to confront Liam Hennessy, a former IRA leader turned government official. When Hennessy refuses to cooperate, Quan uses explosives and blackmail to pressure him. Meanwhile, Hennessy's men attempt to stop Quan, but he evades them. The plot thickens as a second bombing occurs in London. Hennessy eventually tortures a man named McGrath to get the names of the bombers, discovering his own wife, Mary, was the mastermind. Quan infiltrates a flat to eliminate the terrorists, while Hennessy manages the political fallout. In the end, Quan forces Hennessy to publicly expose his ties to the terrorists. The film concludes with Quan returning to his restaurant, while the authorities keep him under surveillance.
- First release year
- 2017
- Runtime (minutes)
- 114
- Production countries
- United Kingdom; China; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Martin Campbell
- Writers
- David Marconi · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Jackie Chan · Ngoc Minh Quan; Pierce Brosnan; Michael McElhatton; Liu Tao; Charlie Murphy; Orla Brady; Katie Leung
- Genres
- action; thriller
- Themes
- revenge; terrorism; father-daughter relationship
- Tone and mood
- tense; action-packed
- Premise and plot tags
- revenge; political thriller; action
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Chinaman by Stephen Leather
- Content notes
- violence
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 66% · scale: percentage · review count: 127; Metacritic · score: 55 · scale: 100 · review count: 23; PostTrak · score: 78% · scale: percentage
- Production trivia
- The film was one of 2018's top ten most-watched Netflix original films in the UK.; A scene involving the explosion of a bus on Lambeth Bridge caused some alarm during filming.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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