Cleaner

Directed by Martin Campbell, who returns to the fray after his last film, Dirty Angels, in 2024. This time, the New Zealander redefines what has been a bittersweet career. He delivers a decent action film, without any flash, with likable characters and villains you'll hate, which I think is the film's turning point.

The cast features Daisy Ridley as the film's main protagonist, in a rather bland but charismatic role, something that defines the actress's career. Also in the cast are Taz Skylar, Clive Owen, and a couple of minor supporting characters. The film's journey relies on the charisma of its cast, which allows you to connect somewhat with what's happening. The truth is, the film is quite light on the action, but it has a touch of tension that keeps us from getting too bored.

It's a film that lacks ambition, but it has interesting ideas that don't quite come together. It's true that it attempts to imitate Die Hard in several ways, but it lacks the charisma that the film starring Bruce Willis offers. Here, the charisma comes from the lead actress, but it's not enough to elevate the overall plot with which Cleaner aims to win us over.

We're left with a film that will give you a good time in front of the screen if you don't have high expectations for what you're watching. If you're expecting mind-blowing entertainment, unfortunately, this won't be the ideal film for that. Still, it's a film that achieves its moments and has a certain visual appeal and ideas that allow the film to end with an acceptable and satisfactory result. It's forgettable, sure, but it's also suitable for a family weekend without high expectations.

The plot feels like a recycled version of something that's been done countless times before, with the only twist being a nerdy character carrying a "Thor hammer," as if begging for mercy from the younger audience. There's little to no effort put into character development, so we couldn't care less about the protagonist or any of the characters, for that matter. There's no suspense, no mystery, just a predictably failed attempt at being a pure action film, which also fell flat. It's hard to find anything positive to say, but here's an attempt: the villain and the cop lady somewhat tried to carry the rest of the cast, but their efforts hardly made a difference. Picture quality was good, lol. You can invite a girl over and play this when you are not really interested in watching. This is one of those movies where you wonder why they even bothered making it, and you're relieved it wasn't any longer.

Corporate greed, eco-activism, terrorism, and a window-cleaner ex-military girl taking down the bad guys who seized her building.

I'll be brief.

This movie is neither particularly fun nor satisfying. The premise shows promise but reveals its hand too early and quickly loses steam. The action is serviceable, the villains are a yawn, and the characters, their motivations, dialogue, and their resolution are all too generic to leave a lasting impression. On top of that, the pacing drags in places, the ending fails to deliver, and the emotional beats between the siblings never quite land. Does it attempt to make a statement about environmental destruction and corporate accountability? If so, it does so in the dullest way possible.

Die Hard, this is not, so the comparisons are moot. Here, the villains hold all the cards (they control the police, the building, and the hostages) and yet the heroine somehow becomes an inexplicable problem for them. There's a script issue, but also an execution problem, as Miss Ridley is competent in the role, but her casual attitude while committing "action" feels jarring and undermines any sense of real danger.

At least it is short (90 minutes, and it feels even shorter). Watch if you want a generic action movie.

In 1988, one of the best action movies ever was released - Die Hard, which was groundbreaking, and is still fun to watch today.

Since it was released 37 years ago, many movies have tried to replicate its success. Some have succeeded, some have not.

The movie Cleaner tries to be the "Die Hard" of 2025, but it fails to do so.

The plot is not convincing or interesting enough, nor are the few action moments.

Despite everything, I did like the idea that the heroine of the film is a window cleaner. This is undoubtedly the film's strong point, but that's where it ends.

In conclusion, I would not recommend running to watch this movie. The acting is mediocre, there is not much action, and overall it is a movie that you can skip.

Okay, is this movie winning Oscars? No. Was it a fun watch? Well, yes. Yes it was. Daisy Ridley was solid in her role. I wish we had more Clive Owen. I think the movie would have been better if he played the role of Noah Santos. But overall, it was a fun action movie if you go in to it without high expectations which is what I did. They did give this movie a budget of $25 million which is quite impressive for a movie that wasn't a theater release. My only complaint, cheesy writing and situations that defied logic. But overall I had fun watching it. It kept my attention for almost two hours. If you're bored and can't find anything to watch, give this a go. Heck, it's better than most offerings on Netflix lol.