Opinion – The Foreigner: Jackie Chan “Breaks Bad”

Jackie Chan has openly denounced ever playing a villain, In The Foreigner, audiences are getting the darkest Jackie Chan we’ve ever seen.

Jackie Chan in The Foreigner, directed by Martin Cambell.STX Entertainment

Jackie Chan is arguably one of the biggest movie stars to come out of China. With over 200 film credits and countless broken bones under his belt, his fame has reached across the globe to the delight of millions of fans. At 63, Jackie Chan has an honorary Oscar, holds a Guinness world record for the most career stunts by any living stuntman, and is considered the “Father of the Kung-Fu Genre”. Yet, there is one accomplishment – or as Jackie considers it, compromise – which remains incomplete: the villainous turn. After all, this is a man who has pledged half his assets to charity upon his death.

With this falls The Foreigner all that is about to change. This may very well be Jackie Chan’s version of “Breaking Bad”; a phrase coined in the American South and popularized by AMC’s eponymous hit TV Show. Essentially, it means to “go wild,” to “defy authority” and break the law, to be verbally “combative, belligerent, or threatening”. Commonly, the phrase is used to describe a character’s arc from nobility to depravity. What you will get is a Jackie Chan you’ve never seen before, a downtrodden anti-hero out for revenge. This is the closest audiences will get to Jackie Chan as the proverbial “Bad Guy”.

The Foreigner is based on a 1992 novel titled The Chinaman by Stephen Leather. In the Action-Drama, starring Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan, Jackie plays London businessman Quan (Chan) who’s dark past erupts in a vengeful campaign when he sets out to hunt down those responsible for the death of his daughter in a senseless act of politically-motivated terrorism.

One look at the film’s trailer should be enough to garner interest from even the most casual of fans. Chan takes new form as sullen father hell bent on revenge with nothing left to lose. Explosions, close quarters combat, and hard-hitting action highlight the footage. But at its core, what captures your attention is a darker Chan; the happy go lucky hero with a smile for every occasion has given way to a man whose experiences weigh heavily on his every decision. His somber expressions and stoic eyes are that of man on the fringe. I openly welcome this side of Jackie Chan; October 13th can’t come soon enough.

With Decades of work behind him, Jackie Chan has only played positive figures such as a policeman, a national agent, a general, or average joes flung into chaotic adventures. Years ago, Jackie committed publicly that he would not play any villain roles and even refused to appear in any pictures of him smoking and or showcase excessive cruelty in his films. It’s no secret that there is a desire to have him play a villain. Fellow action star Sylvester Stallone had offered Jackie a role in The Expendables 2, Jackie turned it down time citing “scheduling” conflicts but soon opened up about his true motivations, “Once [Sylvester] Stallone asked me to be in a film and play a drug baron who turns good at the end. I didn’t go.”

Jackie is synonymous with high-flying action and life endangering stunts. Jackie wants to change audience perceptions of him. “I believe that after [all] these years the audience will understand that Jackie Chan is an actor and no longer just an action star, just a Kung Fu star.”

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jackie sheds light on what contributed to his decision to take on such a unique role. What motivates a man dead set on portraying Hero’s to take on his most controversial role yet? As it turns out, time and his desire to play more dramatic roles. “To put it simply, I’m not young anymore. [Laughs] If I still want to keep making movies, I have to be, like, an Asian De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, or Clint Eastwood, who at 80 can still be actors” says Jackie, “I’m too used to injuries,” he admits. “But if I want to keep making movies, I have to change.”

Screen writer David Marconi saw no else for the role other than Jackie. For a novel originally published in 1992, the story has never seemed more relevant. Jackie seems to agree; “filming this was a chance to talk about peace. We, all of us, need peace, in order to build a peaceful world and live a peaceful life.”

His intent is to show a man who does all the wrong things for all the right reasons. Does the end justify the means? “this method of revenge isn’t good either, you know? It’s not the best solution. I hope through this film people will understand that violence shouldn’t be the only answer. You can’t say, you screwed with me and now that you’ve done that I’m going to also hurt your people. That’s not right either.”

Jackie Chan in The Foreigner, directed by Martin Cambell.STX Entertainment

In the past, Jackie has portrayed characters willing to bend the rules or question authority for the sake of good, but Quan (Chan) is different, his actions can only be described as vigilantism, albeit for the sake of bringing the truth to light. Fundamentally, Jackie seems to be adapting to the world around him, but more importantly, he’s catering to his own physical limitations while expanding on his abilities as an actor. The Foreigner veers away from bombastic set pieces and steers towards smaller, hand-to-hand combat with a grittier personal tone. Many are likening it to Jackie Chan’s version of Taken. Despite his age, Jackie is one of the spryest men over 60 to ever grace our screens. Men half his age are incapable of the physical feats which have become his signature style.

“My fighting style in this has to be believable. He’s old, so in the beginning, I’m walking slowly. And after I set out for vengeance, then I could start to bring out the force of my fighting style. Just, depending on what scene it is or situation it is, you have to match your fighting style to it.”

At a time when most of us might be considering retirement, Jackie Chan is still looking to bring something new to his craft. One thing you may have noticed is there was no mention of calling it quits; retirement is not a consideration. Jackie Chan considers himself an artist and will continue to entertain audiences in any way he can.

The Foreigner opens in US theatres on October 13th and is rated R. Are you looking forward to the new film?