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Sometimes I write things, but mostly I watch movies.
Every few years, someone decides to do another version of Die Hard, and rarely are they good; unfortunately, Cleaner is no exception to the rule. This particular Die Hard derivative is brought to the big screen by writers Simon Uttley, Paul Andrew Williams, and Matthew Orton (Moon Knight, Devil’s Peak); and Martin Campbell (Casino Royale) serves as director. At the center of all it, Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi) stars as the unlikely hero, Joey Locke. Cleaner also stars Clive Owen as Marcus, Ruth Gemmell as DS Hume, and Taz Skylar as Noah; and in his film debut, Matthew Tuck plays Michael, Joey’s autistic older brother.
Joey, a former soldier, now works as a window cleaner on a high-rise building owned by an oil corporation in London. One night, as she works late outside the building, a group of eco-terrorists takes over the building, leaving her as the only person able to save the hostages, which include her brother.
Naturally, just “doing a Die Hard,” so to speak, does lend itself to some fun, but all these derivatives never get the same heights that Die Hard does. Namely, Cleaner lacks a strong villain and interesting supporting characters and fails to take advantage of its premise and take on the situation.
Antagonists with a Point
The villains in Cleaner are flawed. First, there is Clive Owen as Marcus, leader of the eco-terrorist gang. Then, there is Taz Skyler as Noah, the second in command and the far more extreme of the two. As a character, Marcus is quite bland. Noah is far more entertaining to watch but feels too cartoonish, even with his extreme brutality.
However, the film never quite finds the right balance between thinking these guys have a point but also that they are going too far. It’s hard not to be somewhat sympathetic when these guys are going after oil executives and corrupt government officials. especially in this current political climate when these executives and officials continue to be openly corrupt, unjust, and vile with no consequences. While Cleaner does repeatedly remind us that innocent lives are at stake, like Joey’s brother Michael, it just doesn’t spend enough time with those characters to truly make you care.
Supporting Players
Speaking of Michael and the other side characters, they are all pretty bland. Michael is the biggest member of the supporting cast and is cute and charming. It’s great that actor Matthew Tuck is autistic and portrays an autistic character. This gives the film a healthy dose of authenticity and an air of genuine representation. However, he is mostly present in the first and third acts. The character is a missing presence for much of the film’s runtime, and it suffers for it. Instead, during a bulk of the film, Joey deals with DS Hume, the primary hostage negotiator. By comparison, there is not much to say about Hume. She’s not entirely a bore to watch, but she feels more like a needed part of the plot than a character.
Finally, Joey herself is rather generic. Yet, Ridley sells it all well; she gets messy, she gets angry, and she really carries the film on her back. Quite frankly, it’s nice to see Ridley succeed in a film where not much else works. The actor could easily make a little niche for herself doing these mid-budget action films, as she is the only reason the movie works at all. Overall, she’s a fun if somewhat unremarkable action heroine to see on the screen.
Towering Heights, Epic Falls
What separates Cleaner from other similar films is the fact that Joey is on the outside of the building and therefore only a witness to most of the action and events of the film. This builds a really interesting tension throughout since both the viewer and Joey want to stop what’s happening and can only watch the events unfold. It does a good job of turning Joey into an audience avatar and letting the audience feel a sense of satisfaction once she does get in on the action.
However, this does end up backfiring somewhat on the film. At just over ninety minutes, Cleaner doesn’t really get into the action until its final half-hour. A slow build is not always a bad thing, but when the protagonist of the film doesn’t do much until the third act, it’s quite easy to run out of patience. With that said, the action sequences we do get are quite fun. Campbell does a good job at framing and directing them. It’s not Casino Royale, but it’s better than a lot of action films around today.
Unfortunately, the film does not take advantage of the verticality offered by being outside a high-rise building. A few shots show the distant street below, and Joey climbs up and down a few times. However, it never feels like an actual tangible element and more just set dressing. Much of the tension could be mined from this verticality, but it’s mostly told to the audience and not felt.
The Verdict on Cleaner
Cleaner is not terrible, but despite spending most of its runtime building up to a big climax, it doesn’t take the time to build many memorable characters or moments. Combine that with pacing issues and the fact it doesn’t take advantage of its unique spin on the Die Hard formula, and it ultimately ends up a somewhat fun but forgettable action film.
Score: 2.5/5
Cleaner is now playing in theaters.
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Sometimes I write things, but mostly I watch movies.
