Directed by:
Jaume Collet-SerraCinematography:
Paul CameronComposer:
Roque BañosCast:
Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Jonathan Banks, Sam Neill, Elizabeth McGovern, Killian Scott, Shazad Latif, Andy Nyman, Clara Lago, Roland Møller (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
In this action-packed thriller, Liam Neeson stars as Michael, an insurance salesman whose commute home suddenly takes a dangerous turn. After being confronted by a mysterious stranger (Vera Farmiga), Michael must race against time to uncover the identity of a passenger on his train, as he's swept into a conspiracy with life-and-death stakes for himself and his fellow passengers. (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)
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Reviews (10)
The standard Liam Neeson reunites with director Jaume Collet-Serra in a suspenseful thriller that is fun to watch but unfortunately doesn't bring much new to the table. It bothers me a bit that every new Liam film, is actually exactly the same as the previous one. Non-Stop was set on a plane, The Commuter takes place on a train, and the plot is more or less similar, except that I found Non-Stop more entertaining and its denouement more surprising, whereas here I found out all too soon. Too many similarities for my taste, as if they didn't know how to handle the script. That said, the train derailment is solid and Liam still manages the smaller fights, so it's still above average, but it could have been more creative. 70%
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Liam Neeson is still badass, but in Commuter he looks like he’s tired of that. His hero has adapted a bit to the situation, he is no longer the unwavering killing machine he was in Taken, but a panting 60 year old son of a bitch who can hardly make it to the wild, digital finale. The finale of an action thriller that is cruelly predictable with its last twist, but nevertheless has some decent pacing and one or two really dramatic and imaginative scenes. Jaume Collet-Serra is still doing his thing and holds the trilogy to a higher standard than Liam did in, say, the severely degraded Taken trilogy. Still, it's quite a lot for the third time, and while it manages to build up tension from the edge and Vera Farmiga seems like an apparition from another planet in those femme fatale 5 minutes, by the second half it’s already running on fumes. Towards the end, only those seemingly inconspicuous characters obediently squeak onto the stage to break up the screenwriter's misery. It is watchable, because the train setting is attractive – Steven Seagal could tell you a thing or two about it.
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Let me put it mildly and say that the filmmakers didn't do a very good job of making the film. I’ll keep all the curse words to myself. I've never had anything against Liam Neeson. I was there with him when he was rescuing his daughter and wife, or walking over tombstones, and I’ve always been quite satisfied, but I shouldn't have gotten on that train with him. I think an honest tagline for this film could be: How an Aging Insurance Guy Gets Lucky. At least that would have been a red flag for me. Liam Neeson really wasn't up to the role, the plot was stupid and predictable, the ending was incredibly dumb, and I didn’t enjoy this at all. I'm giving it two stars because no trains were harmed during the making of the film.
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The Commuter is a surprisingly bad thriller (considering it promised to be the next Non-Stop), where
not only is there no consistent story logic, but the fights are very digital and unrealistic, which is
unacceptable in today’s filmmaking. It doesn’t work even as an entertaining genre movie, as the only
things worth mentioning here are Liam Neeson and a casting inside joke for movie geeks in the form
of Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga from the Conjuring series.
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NON-STOP 2. Again, initially a promisingly mysterious film, which gradually drowns in the strange behavior of probably all the characters, and which Liam Neeson probably didn't enjoy much, either. The big plus was ensured by an absolutely amazing “guitarist" brawl, whilst big minus for the digital finale that wasn't really the finale.
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