Cleaner is an upcoming British action thriller from director Martin Campbell. The film stars Daisy Ridley, Taz Skylar, and Clive Owen. When a group of radical activists take over an energy company’s annual gala who is ready to murder everyone in the building, it is up to ex-solider turned window cleaner, Joey Locke (Ridley) to save everyone inside, including her younger brother.

Director Martin Campbell has has an interesting filmography throughout his career. He’s had his highs, such as Casino Royale, but also lows, such as Green Lantern. If you take the latter of the two out, he’s been playing it safe ever since Edge of Darkness. His work prides on taking big name actors and setting them on this big epic action quest. The problem lies within the structure and how it reaches that point. It takes forever to get to what viewers are wanting. Unfortunately, that’s the same case here with a side of unoriginality. Fortunately, I still found myself entertained between its pacing and star power.

Anyone who watches this will immediately see how much it is a remake of Die Hard without the smart & witty dialogue. You have a down on their luck character with the right experience that can fight their way through the bad guys to save everyone in a tall building, including a loved one. I could have been talking about either one of those movies. There’s even more with how much it replicates, but I’ll keep that to myself at the moment.

I don’t know if I’d say if this is worth the watch at the theater, but it does remind me of a movie my family and I would rent and watch at home. It’s fun and entertaining. Even though it takes 2/3’s of the movie to get to the main event that everyone is wanting, there’s something about the pacing and energy that makes it not a bad watch. There are areas of improvement, but I also believe this is the best that we could have gotten.

Fans of Daisy Ridley will rejoice by the fact that she is not part of the problem. Sure, the dialogue that is given to her is cliche and the direction in the drama is not great, but it’s clear she’s here for the action. Her career post-Star Wars has been interesting to say the least. She has been doing a lot of smaller stuff and still manages to standout with her full commitment. If anything, this feels like a good demo reel for Ridley that showcases her action and stunt work. Hopefully, it can bring her to something that is better down the road.

Speaking of standouts, I was also quite impressed by Taz Skylar’s performance. The film does a good job at subverting expectations with his importance. I was let down with how little screentime Clive Owen is given, but Skylar makes up for it with a memorable performance. It lacks the right character development, especially with the themes of the environment being the driving moment, but he still makes up for it with a performance that makes me curious as to what he will do next.

The lead up and motivations for the film is quite similar to Die Hard. I didn’t know much going into it, yet I was expecting more The Raid over Die Hard. Choosing something similar to The Raid would have made the film far more exciting. Instead of hanging on the outside of the building for most of the film, Ridley could have been an army against the antagonists in entire building. That would have been amazing. I liked her motive to save everyone here though. Her autistic brother was also in the building and the dynamic between the two was truly captivating, especially when we know where they both come from.

The story of how Ridley’s character goes from ex-solider to window cleaner doesn’t make much sense. We see her climbing around her kitchen as a kid… and that was motive to be a window cleaner? It’s a stretch just to pull this concept off. She is also an ex-soldier, but I don’t get that impression at all until the third act. She is late and all over the place. The film doesn’t give you the impression that she is capable of taking down a group of bad people, but Ridley’s charm makes up for it and makes it totally believable.

I am lowkey surprised this didn’t go straight to streaming. With the little marketing this film has received, you’d think it would be. The movie even throws in a big name actor with little screentime just to make it more appealing. The visual effects, while are only in the beginning, have a horrendous look to the skyline from the building. It’s completely unbelievable that these are real people in a real location, lacking any tension.

Finally, I want to touch on the ending a little bit. I don’t have a problem with how it ended, but how it’s presented. The ending pans out on characters without ever showing their face. It’s clear the talent couldn’t partake in this shot so they got stand-in’s and had voiceover to make it seem like they were there. It ends on a nice note, but it lacks any believability. I suppose that’s the best way to explain this film. It lacks a lot of believability, but it’s still fun with its star power and action when it is there.

Overall, Cleaner is flawed entertainment. Daisy Ridley carries the film, but also shows why she deserves a better script. When the action is there, it is a lot of fun. Taz Skylar is an actor I would be interested in seeing next with a standout role alongside Ridley. I don’t ever like saying skip a movie you want to see in a theater. Instead, I can see this doing far better when it hits streaming.

VERDICT: 3/5 (Good)