The Commuter

In 2008 a lanky fella from Ballymena went to Paris to get his daughter back. No one was expecting much but against the odds Liam Neeson became an action star. 10 years later he's still up to his old tricks. He's looking a bit more haggard these day but he's still convincing. The films mightn't be but he is. The Commuter is his latest one. It's riddled with silliness, full of plot holes and gets extremely repetitive in places but you know what, it's still pretty entertaining.

Michael MacCauley is an insurance salesman. Each day he travels to work in Manhattan by train from upstate New York. He's been doing it for 10 years and knows the names and faces of nearly every regular passenger. One day a woman sits across from him and offers him a proposition he'll find hard to refuse. Find the person on the train who doesn't belong there. Do what she asks or bad things will happen. What will he do? Hmmmm, it's a tough one.

I've got to say i enjoyed this. I get a kick out of seeing Neeson in action. He just does it so well. He makes the film his. There's a fine supporting cast in this but it's all about him. In a lovely and economical opening 10 minutes we find out everything we need to know about the main character. His wife, his son, his daily job struggles. That daily trip to work that turns into a slog. How the recession of the last decade effected him like so many other. It all works to turn him into a real(ish) character. Later scenes of him prowling the corridors of the train get repetitive fast but seeing him throwing side-eye at every passenger is never less than entertaining. Seeing him getting increasingly frazzled and bloody while the other passengers don't seem to notice are unintentionally funny. Him aside the film has plenty of treats on offer. It contains homages to both Hitchcock and Kubrick films that will make the geekier film fans in the crowd smile, especially one scene late in the film. It's pretty action lite compared to some of his other outings but the few fight scenes in here work and have a solid heft to them. You'll feel each kick and headbutt. One fight shot in an extended take is brilliant fun to watch as Neeson and an adversary take apart a train carriage with only their extremities and an unfortunate Fender Stratocaster guitar. The other big action scene though...oh it's stupid.

The stupidity is laid on thick in this film. A big stunt in the last third of the film nearly derails the film (see what i did there?? Subtle wit) totally. It's something that wouldn't seem out of place in a Michael Bay Transformers movie. It's utterly childish and totally unnecessary. It seems to be there so they can use it in the film trailer. What came before is silly and convoluted but this very nearly ruins the film. But...because it's all built on a solid fountain created by the opening scenes and carried by someone as convincing as Neeson that you'll be able to forgive it. The supporting cast help too. The don't get much to do but they all add to the finishing product. Jonathan Banks and Patrick Wilson especially.

This is director Jaume Collet-Serra's fourth film with Neeson. Unknown, Non-Stop, Run All Night and now this. On the basis of this one I'll happily watch what comes next. It's not as fun as Taken or Run All Night or as intense as The Grey but this is still an entertaining entry in the pantheon of Neeson's latter day action career. You might have it forgotten the next day but it's still a fun way to spend a couple of hours.