Cleaner – A Derivative Die Hard Clone (Early Review)

Cleaner is the latest action thriller from director Martin Campbell, the man behind such classics such as Casino Royale, Goldeneye, and The Mask of Zorro just to name a few. When a group of radical activists led by Marcus Blake (Owen) take over an energy company’s annual gala and seize 300 hostages, it’s up to Joey Locke (Ridley), an ex-soldier turned window cleaner suspended 50 stories up on the outside of the building, to save all the hostages trapped inside, including her younger brother. Hit or miss for much of the 2000s, Campbell delivers more of the same as the film and while decently entertaining in the moment, it should have been so much better considering the fact that it comes from a director as established and talented as Campbell.

That being said, the film gives Ridley an all too rare opportunity to be a kick ass action hero again, and she once again gives it her all in a truly commanding performance. Consistently elevating whatever she appears in, she does a commendable job balancing both the physical and emotional requirements needed for Joey, standing out especially in hand to hand fight scenes. The opening act sets the tone nicely as it firmly establishes Joey and developing a compelling emotional connection with audiences, beyond the innate likability and charm of Ridley herself. Meanwhile, Skylar is clearly having a blast in a villainous role, as Noah, creating a hateable antagonist for audiences. All of the action is clean and well handled by Campbell, featuring a nice variety of shootouts and fight sequences. It’s lean 96-minute runtime is always welcome, and a fun third act really dials up the action.

However, outside of that, Cleaner is about as generic, derivative, and forgettable as this blatant Die Hard clone lacks anything to help it even remotely stand out from the countless others out there. Taking way too long to get going, it takes longer long to get to the action, something clearly meant to be a major selling point. Had the entire film been more like its third act and contained even half as much action, it would have had the potential to be a really great action thriller. Instead, it is merely lifeless and a little dull, simply because it is hard to care about the villain’s central plan, and it strands its lead outside in one location for a majority of the film. Also, it doesn’t offer much in the way of surprises because the film is so predictable from the start, and it is surprisingly low on thrills or any sort of genuine suspense until the third act. Playing the film’s most compelling character, Owen is beyond wasted as Blake, giving him too little to work with.

At the end of the day, Cleaner is watchable if going into it with the right expectations. For those who are hardcore action junkies, this one might be a decent time, but for the most part, it is a middling affair boasting next to nothing special or memorable. Martin Campbell is one of those directors who will hopefully be given the chance to make as many films as he’d like for the rest of time, but if his latest work is of any indication, it sadly looks like his best days are long behind him.

still courtesy of Quiver Distribution

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Connor Carey

www.connorsmoviereviews.com/