THE FOREIGNER | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"THE FOREIGNER"
(2017) (Jackie Chan, Pierce Brosnan) (R)

QUICK TAKE:: Action: When his daughter is killed in a London terrorist bombing, a former Chinese military operative takes it upon himself to avenge her death.

PLOT:

When Quan's (JACKIE CHAN) only daughter is killed in a London terrorist bombing, he is beside himself with grief. The attack was apparently the work of a new fringe of the Irish Republican Army, hell-bent on stoking old hostilities between England and Northern Ireland. A few weeks go by, and the news media reports no suspects and no arrests. So, Quan decides to start pestering the British operative in charge of the investigation, Commander Richard Bromley (RAY FEARON), who gives him no help.

Fed up with what he perceives as ineptitude and the possible influence of muddied U.K. politics, Quan travels to Ireland to confront the man in charge on the other end of the investigation, Irish Deputy Minister Liam Hennessy (PIERCE BROSNAN). Liam is a former IRA member who has devoted the last two decades to keeping the peace and healing old wounds. But he also tells Quan that there are no leads and to let the professionals handle it.

Little do Bromley and Liam know that Quan was once a professional himself, a trained military operative highly skilled in weapons, explosives, and martial arts. He launches his own investigation and even sets off a few choice explosives himself to compel Liam and his cohorts to give him some names. Once he starts doing that, the movie reveals a tapestry of shifting loyalties and backdoor conspiracies involving Liam; his wife, Mary (ORLA BRADY), still yearning for revenge against the Brits who killed her brother years earlier; his mistress, Maggie (CHARLIE MURPHY), who may have more knowledge of the bombings than she leads on; his nephew, Sean (RORY FLECK BYRNE), an Iraqi war veteran who Liam trusts implicitly, but shouldn't; and Hugh McGrath (DERMOT CROWLEY), an old-guard IRA loyalist unable to fit in in the new order.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Older male teens may be attracted to its action, but the film definitely skews older overall.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For violence, language, and some sexual material.

Please watch the following short interview about why I started Screen It and continue to review movies for parents:

To continue reading the review and all of the highly detailed, scene-by-scene listings of the sex, nudity, profanity, violence and more (15 categories):

or

Just $7.95/month or $47/year

I have subscribed to ScreenIt for more than a decade. I check in every week to take advantage of their amazing services. Not only does their site provide a glimpse of exactly what content a movie offers, I've found the “Our Take” reviews and ratings for each movie to be right on the money every single time. I've referred dozens of friends to this service because my #1 resource for deciding whether or not to show a movie to my kids, or to see one myself, is ScreenIt.com!

Josh Nisbet
Director, State of CA Public Sector

I signed up to get Screen It weekly reviews a long time ago, when my kids were young and I wanted to know more about movies before we went to a theater or rented. Now one child is in law school, other in undergraduate, and I still read the weekly Screen Its! It helps me know what my husband and I want to see or rent, and what to have waiting at home that we all will enjoy when my "kids" come home. I depend on Screen It reviews. They usually just present the facts and let me decide if the movie is appropriate or of interest for my family and me. Thank you for providing that service, Screen It!

Patti Petree
Winston Salem, NC

I have 4 children who are now in college. I signed up for Screen It when my children were pre-teenagers. Often my children would ask to see a movie with a friend and I wished I could preview the movie prior to giving permission. A friend told me about ScreenIt.com and I found it to be the next best thing to previewing a movie. The amount of violence, sexual content, or language were always concerns for me and my husband as we raised innocent kids with morals. We constantly fought the peer pressure our kids received to see films that in our opinion were questionable. With the evidence we received at Screen It, our kids couldn't even fight us when we felt a film may have been inappropriate for them to watch. Thank you, Screen It. Continue to make this helpful service available to everyone, but especially the young parents.

Christine Doherty
Machesney Park, IL

Screenit.com is an amazing resource for parents, educators, church groups or anyone who wants to make an informed decision whether a movie is suitable for their viewing. The reviews and content descriptions are so detailed I am mystified how the reviewers can put them together.

Scott Heathe
Vancouver, BC

I love screen It! I don't know what I would do without it. It is well worth the membership. Before we take our son to the movies we check it out on screen it first. Thank you SO much for making it. Keep up the good work & keep 'em coming!!!

Patrina Streety
Moreno Valley California

Other new and recent reviews include:

Privacy Statement and Terms of Use and Disclaimer
By entering this site you acknowledge to having read and agreed to the above conditions.