The Foreigner is a 2017 action thriller film^[2] directed by Martin Campbell from a screenplay by David Marconi, based on the 1992 novel The Chinaman by Stephen Leather. A British-Chinese-American co-production, starring Jackie Chan, Pierce Brosnan, Michael McElhatton, Liu Tao, Charlie Murphy, Orla Brady, and Katie Leung. The film follows a London-based Chinese Nùng restauranteur and ex-soldier who seeks vengeance for the death of his youngest daughter.

The Foreigner was released in China on 30 September 2017 by Wuzhou Film Distribution, in the United States on 13 October 2017 by STX Entertainment, and in the United Kingdom on 15 December 2017 on Netflix. It received generally favourable reviews from critics with praise for its action sequences, musical score, and against type performances of Chan and Brosnan, but criticized its formulaic plot.^[3] The film grossed $145 million at the worldwide box office and was one of 2018's top ten most-watched Netflix original films in the UK.

Ngoc Minh Quan, a widower and Vietnam War veteran, runs a Chinese restaurant in London. His only daughter, Fan, is killed in a terrorist bombing in Knightsbridge, and an IRA splinter group dubbing itself the "Authentic IRA" claims responsibility. Quan visits the Scotland Yard daily for information. When Commander Bromley tells him he is hindering the investigation, Quan travels to Belfast to meet deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and Sinn Féin political advisor Liam Hennessy, a former Provisional IRA leader who claims to have renounced violence, leaving the restaurant to his friend and partner Lam.

Quan contacts Hennssy and demands the names of the bombers, but Hennessy denies any knowledge, so Quan sets off a homemade bomb in Hennessy's building and leaves a fake explosive on Hennessy's car as a warning. Hennessy orders his right-hand man, Jim Kavanagh, to locate Quan and get him out of the city, and the IRA weapons dumps be searched for missing Semtex. Hennessy's henchmen tracked Quan, but he fights them off and escapes. Later, Quan photographs Hennessy kissing his mistress, Maggie Dunn, in a restaurant.

Quan then follows Hennessy to his farmhouse, attacking it with more bombs. As Hennessy's men search for him, Quan maims them with traps before he is wounded when Kavanagh shoots him before fleeing. Hennessy enlists his nephew Sean Morrison, a former Royal Irish Regiment soldier and skilled tracker, to stop Quan. Morrison negotiates with Bromley that each IRA cell will change their code words; Bromley agrees on the condition that the police will take them down. Hennessy's former IRA commander, Hugh McGrath, confronts him about the searches, accusing Hennessy of caring more about his position within the U.K government than the IRA’s cause.

A double-decker bus is blown up, but no code word is given, creating distrust between Hennessy and Bromley. Hennessy learns that Morrison unintentionally leaked information during an affair with his wife, Mary. Bromley notifies Hennessy that they’ve found the bomber’s identity and threatens to raid his farm unless the latter questions McGarth after they tracked him to his farmhouse. Hennessy tortures McGrath into telling him where and who the terrorists are, which includes Maggie, whose real name is Sara McKay. Hennessy learns that Mary masterminded the attacks because her brother was murdered by a UVF death squad and hates both the British and her husband for allowing his killers to be jailed. Hennessy kills McGrath and shares the information with Morrison.

Morrison eventually finds Quan’s hideout, but Quan manages to subdue him. Sean gives him the names of the killers and their locations. After Morrison is released and returns to the farm, his uncle reprimands him for his actions and gives him one last task before he must return to New York.

Quan enters the bombers' London flat disguised as a gasman. He kills all of them except for Sara, who was wounded in the scuffle. Quan escapes before the SO15 and MI5 storm the complex. They torture Sara into disclosing the location of their next bomb, which is planted in a reporter's laptop to be detonated on a plane carrying British dignitaries to a conference. Airport police locate the reporter and throw the laptop into an air bridge, which explodes without any casualties. Shortly afterward, McKay is executed to tie up loose ends. British cabinet minister Katherine Davies, who was scheduled to be on the targeted flight, calls Hennessy to tell him she knows of his involvement, but having helped prevent the attack, he can remain as deputy First Minister, albeit under her control. Meanwhile, Morrison kills Mary.

Quan confronts Hennessy with a picture offer him kissing Maggie. He forces Liam to post the photo online, publicizing his links to the Authentic IRA. Quan returns to the restaurant and reunites with Lam. Realizing Quan's role, Bromley decides not to take further action against Quan and keeps him under surveillance for the time being.

On 5 June 2015 it was announced that Jackie Chan would star in the action thriller film The Foreigner,^[4] for STX Entertainment, and based on Stephen Leather's novel The Chinaman.^[5] Nick Cassavetes initially signed to direct the film, which was adapted from Leather's novel by David Marconi, while Wayne Marc Godfrey was one of the producers.^[6] The film is partially set in Walworth, London.^[5] On 15 July 2015, Deadline reported that Martin Campbell was instead in talks to direct the film, while Relativity Media would finance.^[6] Campbell was paid $2 million for the film.^[7] Pierce Brosnan joined the cast alongside Chan in November. Brosnan previously starred in the 1995 film GoldenEye directed by Campbell.^[8] Co-stars Liu Tao and Chan attended the Shanghai Film Festival on 11 June 2016 to promote the film.^[9]

Principal photography commenced in January 2016. The filming in London of a scene involving the explosion of a bus on Lambeth Bridge caused some alarm, as people were not aware that it was a stunt.^[10] Scenes were shot at the Walters & Cohen designed Regent High School in Camden and on Churton Street in Pimlico on 18 February 2016.^{[citation needed]}

Cliff Martinez composed the score.^[11]

The Foreigner was released theatrically in China on 30 September 2017 by Wuzhou Film Distribution and in the United States on 13 October 2017 by STX Entertainment.^[11][12] In the Philippines, the film was distributed by Viva International Pictures on 18 October 2017.^[13]

In January 2016, The New Yorker quoted Jackie Chan in-conversation with then-STX chairman Adam Fogelson as having suggested that a female character in The Foreigner who had been killed off in the script had been kept alive so-as to "save her for No. 2. Now the IRA goes after her—and that's the story." On said meeting with Chan and the concept of The Foreigner No. 2 sequel, Fogelson then remarked, “A few years ago, thinking about the sequel that way would be characterized as a lazy, greedy bastardization of the creative process. If you said that now, you'd be telling the entire world that they're wrong. Sequels have become a duty—a form of storytelling that, thanks to great television, audiences have grown accustomed to. You can aspire to create six two-hour movies that develop your concept across multiple resolutions—which makes movies easier to sell, and creates a more predictable business model. Half the films we'll say yes to will have sequelable potential."^[27]