Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Movie review: The Commuter

 
 Michael, an insurance salesman and ex-cop, has his daily train commute interrupted when a mysterious woman forces him to find a specific passenger before the last stop.

Liam Neeson (Michael MacCauley), Vera Farmiga (Joanna), Patrick Wilson (Alex), Jonathan Banks (Walt), Sam Neill (Capt. Hawthorne), Elizabeth McGovern (Karen), Killian Scott (Dylan), Shazad Latif (Vince).

The Commuter begins with a bit of backstory and character development for Michael before he jumps on a train for his daily commute home. That is when he is approached by Joanna who forces him to find a specific passenger before the last stop or risk his family being killed. The remainder of the film is an interesting mix of suspense, mystery, and action which adds a bit of depth to the story. With an intense fight scene and requisite ending, this one wraps up looking a lot like Neeson's other popular action thriller films.

Neeson delivered what has become his usual rough-and-tumble tough guy performance. Farmiga was enjoyable as usual and somewhat underused. Wilson was solid, and probably could have been more with some character development. Banks was good, as was Neill and McGovern. The remainder of the supporting cast was enjoyable.

Camera work, sets, and backgrounds are mild but solid and fitting for the film. Action scenes are okay but again, feel like every other Neeson action flick. Dialogue was mediocre and could have added more to the film. Sound and soundtrack are okay.

Overall if you want to see Neeson in an action flick, he has made better films than this one. The Commuter feels like a cookie-cutter crime thriller that put very little energy into differentiating itself from every other film in the genre.

With some violence, gore, and foul language this should be fine for teens and above.

Released: 2018
Reviewed: 7.7.19
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Genre: Thriller, Action Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Action

copyright ©2019 Dave Riedel

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