At 81 years old, veteran filmmaker Martin Campbell is moving faster than ever. He doesn’t seem to be attempting to capture the old glories of Casino Royale and Goldeneye, but to working with the top female action stars of today. As such, we’ve seen him direct Maggie Q (The Protege), Eva Green (Dirty Angels), and now Daisy Ridley for the Die Hard-esque actioner, Cleaner. While it doesn’t come close to reaching Campbell’s greatest highlights, it’s a solid, topical thriller that puts Ridley in the role of a hero who saves the day without the Force on her side.
Ridley plays ex-soldier Joey Locke, kicked out of the military for something that sounds vaguely insubordinate. It doesn’t take us long to figure out that Joey is living life by the seat of her pants. She’s already late for work, where she washes windows at the massive One Canada Square skyscraper in London, but must race to scoop up her autistic bro Michael (Matthew Truck), a Marvel fanatic (he carries a toy Thor hammer around everywhere) who has been causing trouble. She’s forced to bring him in to work with her on the worst day possible. The morally questionable Agnian Energy is holding a lavish gala, only for it to be hit by eco-terrorists led by Marcus (Clive Owen) who wants them to admit their blatant corruption to the world. However, there’s mutiny in the ranks as his second-in-command Noah (Taz Skylar), one of Joey’s co-workers, has more extreme plans in mind.
Cleaner takes its time to get rolling, as much of the film deals with Joey trying to sort out what to do with Michael, who is a bit of a headache and someone she is ill-equipped to watch over. She can barely take care of herself, by all appearances. We learn a little about her backstory that informs her heroic efforts later, but honestly, the script by a trio of writers (including Captain America: Brave New World‘s Matthew Orton) doesn’t tell us much because it doesn’t have to. Less is usually more when you just want to watch the good guy fight baddies and save the day.
For much of the film Joey is stuck on the outside looking in from her window-washing scaffold, and her goal isn’t to fight terrorists but to get Michael the Hell out of there. But once she finds a way in, those old soldier instincts kick right in…after a bit of urging from the impotent police force down on the ground. Campbell’s veteran skills at choreographing action kick into gear, and Ridley seems to relish getting physical again after taking quite a few movies off from it. She can kick butt without the need for a lightsaber. Better use of the skyscraper’s levels and architecture in staging the fights would’ve been appreciated, as would more time for Owen who seems to have been there only to return a favor.
Ridley and Campbell enjoyed working together so much that they’re working on another action flick, Dedication, which has a very similar premise minus the towering locale. If Cleaner is any indication, it’ll be another well-made, but not entirely memorable, slice of action movie nostalgia.
Cleaner opens in theaters on February 21st.
