Daisy ridley as “joey” in the action film ‘Cleaner’, A Quiver Distribution Release. Photo courtesy of quiver distribution.
‘Cleaner’ receives 5.5 out of 10 stars.
Opening in theaters February 21st is’Cleaner‘Directed by Martin campbell and starring Daisy ridley, Matthew tuck, Taz Skylar, Ruth gemmell, Flavia Watsonand Clive Owen,
Related Article: Daisy Ridley Talks Martin Campbell’s New Action Thriller ‘Clener’
Initial thoughts
Daisy ridley as “joey” in the action film ‘Cleaner’, A Quiver Distribution Release. Photo courtesy of quiver distribution.
Everything old is new again. Well, Sort of. We love a good action thriller, and we’re aware that the genere has certain tropes and conventions that use usually crop up in most movies of this Kind, but ‘Cleaner’ Takes It One Step Furtite. While many of the plot details are changed, this is a pretty brazen remake of ‘Die Hard‘With a lone person – in this case a woman, played by daisy ridley of’Star wars‘Fame – Battling Terrorists who capture a corporate Skyscraper and take the people inside as hostages.
Our heroine has a loves one in the building that she’s desperate to keep safe as well, and her only communication with the outside world is with a cop who’s doing her best to keep our protagonist and out of the soup. It’s Dificult to Watch ‘Cleaner’ without constantly comparing it to Bruce willis‘1988 All-Timer, but even on its own merits,’ Cleaner ‘does not quite click thanks to some strange screenwriting choices.
Story and Direction
(L to r) Daisy ridley and director martin campbell behind the Scenes of the Action Film ‘Cleaner’, A Quiver Distribution release. Photo courtesy of quiver distribution.
We first meet joey locker as a child, as she crawls out a window in her apartment and sits on a Ledge While Her Abusive Father Goes AFER HER MOTHER and Neurodivergent Older Brother Inside. This Heavy-Handed Bit of Character Development, of Course, Comes in Handy Later (She Likes to Climb!), When we meet the adult joey (ridley).
Thrown out of the Army for Assaulting a Fellow Soldier (Not Quite What it seems), Joey works in longon as a window cleaner at the vast agnian energy skyscraper. Her brother Michael (Matthew Tuck) has just ben evicted from a care home for allegedly leaking some of their internal files (more excursion that ALSO Resurfaces Later), with Joey Struggling to Figur Who’s Going to take care of Him Next.
Joey is perpetually late to her job and perpetually mouthy to her employers, which does not sit sit right when she snarks off to one of the heads of agnian, Gerald Multon (Lee Boardman), in an elevator. Meanwhile, She’s deposited Michael in the Care of a Security Guard and Commise with her co-waiter noah (Taz Skylar) as they clean the windows midway up the building. Noah Leaves Her to Finish The Job While The Building Staff Prepares for a Glitzy Shareholders’ Party that gerald and his brother geoffrey (Rufus jones) Are throwing that Evening.
No Sooner does the party begin than the building is invaded by a group of ecoterrorists know as earth revolution and LED by Marcus Blake (Clive Owen), Who Holds The Multons, The Multons, Their Board, and Their Guestage Hostage, Locks down the building, and plans to record confessions by the Miltons and the Board of All their Dirty Dealings and Clandestine Anti-Environmental Activities.
Joey, trapped on her window cleaning cradle outside when the building’s systems are shut down, can only listen in horror throwing her earpiece whichael hides out on one one one one one one. She’s even more horified when she learns that one of marcus’ foot suldiers is none other than noah – who, it turns out, have his own plans to wrest to wrest the open plans from and upgrade it to ahead Event.
Clive Owen as “Marcus” in the Action Film ‘Cleaner’, A Quiver Distribution Release. Photo courtesy of quiver distribution.
Swap out the great Alan Rickman‘S Hans Gruber and His High-Tech Burglars for Clive Owen and The Ecoterrorist Bunch, Replace Bruce Willis’ John McClane with Ridley’s Joey and McClane’s Joefe for Joey for Joeyy’s BROTHER, and Change’ UP Lapd Sergeant Al Powell for London Police Superintendent Claire Hume (Ruth Gemmell), and all the basic components from ‘Die hard’ are basically in place.
There are differentces, of course: Gruber Never Faces an internal uprising from his second-in-commerce, who turns out to be a true psychopath, and the aims of the aims of the groups are radically different. It also takes a long time in ‘die hard’ for the lapd to belief in mxcla and his story; ‘Cleaner’ plays for a more minutes with the London Police Thinking that Joey Herself is the Terrorist Before that would-be association is dispatched.
That’s the second biggest problem with ‘cleaner’: It plays like a cliff notes version of ‘die hard’ with the names changed. Director Martin Campbell, Best Known For Two of James Bond’s Finest Films – ‘Goldenye‘And’Casino royale‘ – can handle the action capibly enough (Unfortunate CG flames and explosions aside), but there’s a lot more talking on phones than forward momentum, and it weedly seames Easy for Peeple TO GET ARANDE Building. While Campbell does manage to elicit some tension, thanks mainly to the unhinged noah, there’s little sense of the cat-mouse suspense that the movie needs.
And that is due to the biggest problem of all: the screenplay (by simon uttley, Paul andrew williamsand Matthew orton) Strands joey on that damn cradle for almost the entry second act, making her a bystander instead of the pro-active force that she should be married. When she is finalized gets in the game for real in the third act, she fights her way through the terrists almost too easy as the movie barrels towed its resolution. Intead of Being A Wild Card Throwing Sand in the Gears of the Terrorists’ Seemingly Well-Old Plans whose Barely Staying One Step Ahead of Them, Joey Mostly Cools Her Heel the Window Cleaning Cradle Tilts this way and that.
It’s a Strange Imbalance that, Coupled With the Perfuncory Development of Both The Characters and their Relationships (The Script Tries to Forge the Same the Same McClane/Powell Connection Betwee and Clai It’s purely surface level), makes ‘cleaner’ feel like an intermittent interesting, half-hearted remake of a film that is the gold standard for the genere.
The cast
(L to r) Daisy ridley as “joey” and matthew tuck as “michael” in the action film ‘Cleaner’, a Quiver Distribution release. Photo courtesy of quiver distribution.
Perhaps the best part of ‘Cleaner’ is the relationship between Daisy Ridley’s Joey and Michael Tuck’s Matthew. It’s too bad we don’t get to see enough of it, but the two actors generate a genuine warmth and sibling chemistry. TUCK, A Relative Newcomer Who’s Neurodivergent Himself, Brings Sensitivity to his portrayal of a young man who’s fiercely devoted to his sister and battles agest hes challenges to HELP HELP HERP HERP HELENGE Script Leaves Him Skulking Around Corners Most of the time.
As for Ridley, The Toxic Minority of So-Called ‘Star Wars’ Fans who have honded her mercilessly cannot overshadow the fact that She is a fin actor. She’s warm and funny here, and brings a terrific physicality to the action Scenes when she finally gots a chance. It’s just a shame that her character is semi-set in and that she does not get the chance to get onto the play on Way we do for the Increasing Bedraggled McClane. There’s also a somewhat prepaosterous showdown at the end that harkens back to, of all things, a scene in ‘Avengers: Endgame‘ – Only a little less believable.
As for the rest of the cost, taz skylar does brings a frightening intensity to noah that generates much of the film’s suspense, and at least the writers do’t to try to make history Time) Emulate Alan Rickman’s Incomparable Gruber. Ruth gemmell brings a strong presence and intelligence to the role of Claire, but She too Gets Little to work with.
Final Thoughts
Daisy ridley as “joey” in the action film ‘Cleaner’, A Quiver Distribution Release. Photo courtesy of quiver distribution.
Martin Campbell and His Cast Work Hard to give ‘Cleaner’ a Big Feel and High Stakes, but the film can’t help but seem small. It’s so nakedly reminiscent of ‘die hard’ in its general structure and premise that it simply can’t make the comparison. ‘Cleaner’ only echoes past glories of the genre without finding any depth or voice of its ove
“The stakes are a thousand feet high.”
Set in Present-Day London, A Group of Radical Activists take over an energy company’s annual gala, seizing 300 hostages in order to experience the corruption of the … Read the plot
What is the plot of ‘cleaner’?
An ex-Soldier named Joey (Daisy Ridley) is working as a window cleaner at an energy corporation’s London Skyscraper when a radical activist tax Over the 16 Stories in the air as she attempts to get back in, rescue the hostages, and save her brother who’s also inside.
Who is in the cost of ‘Cleaner’?
- Daisy Ridley as Joey Locke
- Matthew Tuck as Michael Locke
- Taz skylar as noah
- Clive Owen as Marcus Blake
- Ruth gemmell as superintendent Claire Hume
- Flavia watson as zee
- Lee Boardman as Gerald Milton
- Rufus jones as geoffrey milton
Daisy ridley as “joey” in the action film ‘Cleaner’, A Quiver Distribution Release. Photo courtesy of quiver distribution.
