Time: 98 Minutes
Cast:
Daisy Ridley as Joanna “Joey” Locke
Clive Owen as Marcus Blake
Taz Skylar as Noah Santos
Director: Martin Campbell

I was interested in Cleaner, the latest action movie from Martin Campbell which stars Daisy Ridley in the lead role. Despite previously directing great action films like Casino Royale and The Mask of Zorro, Campbell’s recent output hasn’t really been all that great, just decent at best. Still, I was at least curious enough to check it out, and I had a good time with it.

Cleaner is yet another typical action thriller that has a similar setup to Die Hard, but of course isn’t anywhere near as good as that classic. The writing is a bit of a mixed bag; the plot is thin, and it takes a while for things to start in the first act. Still, it’s reasonably tense and entertaining. While it takes a bit for the action plot to start, it establishes the connection between Daisy Ridley’s character and her brother quite well, and adds heart that does actually benefit the movie. The third act is the highlight and makes the wait all worth it, with well staged and fun action scenes. It’s also around a fitting length of 100 minutes.

Daisy Ridley does a great job at carrying this movie. She’s a great physical presence, delivering on both action scenes and the emotional aspects of her character. Ridley really does elevate this movie with her work here, and it’s just a shame that she’s stuck literally outside of the action for two thirds of the movie. While it is satisfying to actually see her in the action, I wished we got to see a lot more of it. Another high point is the complicated relationship between Ridley and her brother played by Matthew Tuck. The two share good and believable chemistry and this does elevate the movie to being a little better than just an “okay action flick”. Taz Skylar goes all out with his performance, chewing up the scenery. Clive Owen on the other hand is massively wasted here.

Martin Campbell’s direction is competent and solid. Cleaner largely takes place at one location in a high rise building, and does well at maintaining a level of tension throughout. The actual action scenes don’t arrive until much later, but they are well directed and strong, with good stunts and engaging fights.

Cleaner is a disposable, flawed, derivative, but nonetheless entertaining and well directed action thriller, and is greatly carried by Daisy Ridley’s committed performance. It’s fun enough for what it is.