Four stars. Rated R, for violence, profanity and some sensuality
By Derrick Bang • Originally published in The Davis Enterprise, 10.13.17
This film likely isn’t on your
radar.
It should be.
 |
| Irish Deputy Minister Liam Hennessy (Pierce Brosnan, right) is kind enough to grant some time to Quan Ngoc Minh (Jackie Chan), who hopes to learn the identity of the terrorists who killed his daughter, back in London. The meeting ... does not go well. |
Director Martin Campbell and
scripter David Marconi have transformed prolific British thriller author
Stephen Leather’s 1992 novel, The
Chinaman, into a crackerjack espionage drama: an absolutely perfect vehicle
for star Jackie Chan, shrewdly playing a character his actual age (63 years
young).
And while it’s true that the
beloved martial arts sensation no longer hurls himself out of trees, or through
multiple plate-glass windows, he still has moves. Plenty of them.
Marconi’s script is a clever
update of Leather’s novel, which was written while the Provisional Irish Republican
Army’s brutal bombing campaign was climaxing (and which, mercifully, would
conclude with a cease-fire in 1997). This big-screen adaptation benefits from
taut direction, crisp editing and a devious narrative laden with twists and
double-crosses.
And, most of all, from Chan’s captivating
portrayal of a character who completely wins our hearts and minds.
The contemporary setting
introduces Quan Ngoc Minh (Chan) as a quiet London restaurateur, who dotes on
his teenage daughter, Fan (Katie Leung): the sole family member left after a
couple of earlier tragedies. Campbell and Marconi deftly sketch their loving
relationship during a prologue that feels ominous because of its mundane
normality.
Our fears prove justified, when
Fan’s enthusiastic dive into a dress shop turns tragic as a terrorist bomb goes
off. Credit for the heinous act is claimed by a group calling itself The
Authentic IRA.
Although swept into in a
maelstrom of grief that threatens to drown him — Chan’s expression and body
language are heartbreaking, during these early scenes — Quan patiently,
doggedly navigates “proper channels” in an effort to secure a piece of
information that he deems naïvely simple: the name, or names, of the bombers.
He finally gains a chat with
Commander Richard Bromley (Ray Fearon), head of the British anti-terrorist task
force charged with investigating the attack. Although sympathetic, Bromley
assures Quan that his team is doing everything possible, and sends him home.
But Quan cannot let it rest, much to the mounting concern of his restaurant
partner, Lam (Tao Liu), who clearly loves him.
