The Commuter
The Commuter
Starring Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Jonathan Banks
Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra
Michael McCauley (Liam Neeson) is a 60-year-old former detective-turned insurance salesman who rides the train to his job every single day - for the last ten years. Yet today is different. He's just been laid off, he doesn't know how to tell his wife (Elizabeth McGovern) and son (Dean-Charles Chapman) that he's now unemployed, and wonders how he will make ends meet. Then he meets mysterious Joanna (Vera Farmiga), who offers him a tantalizing offer: find someone on the train that doesn't belong, and $100,000 will be his.
Michael is doubtful about the claim until he finds the money hidden, and then learns there's a much darker motive to this supposed hypothetical, but he finds himself caught in a web of deceit and danger, as there's much more at stake than money.
The Synopsis:
There are some actors who are generally typecast to a specific role: Vin Diesel stars in action movies (and sometimes terrible family-friendly affairs), Jennifer Aniston appears in romantic comedies, and Morgan Freeman stars as the wise older man. Add to that list Liam Neeson, who, at the young age of 65, generally only appears in action films. That, in itself, is impressive to say the least, as his physical prowess far exceeds men more than half his age, but it gets to the point where each film is the same. Be it "Taken," "Run All Night," "Non-Stop," or "Unknown," he seems to play the same type of character.
It's no surprise either, as the last three films I mentioned were all directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, who once again collaborates with Neeson here, in a film that the aging action star has already professed will be his "last action movie." If this is indeed his swan song, it's a perfectly adequate way to go out, because it's about as generic as he other outings, so much so you could string all the films together in one long narrative, and it could possibly make sense.
Here, instead of taking place on a plane, the suspense happens on a train, where Neeson's character is forced to find a witness to a murder so the mysterious powers-that-be can silence them permanently. Since he's a former detective, they picked him to find the person because - well, because he's Liam Neeson I guess. After he refuses to participate, the film takes on a "Taken" vibe when they threaten his family (leading to scenes reminiscent of Harrison Ford in pretty much any film he's been in:
Still, I wasn't going into the film expecting some Oscar-caliber writing: I just wanted to see a cheesy, corny B-rated action flick. That is exactly what I got, because "The Commuter" doesn't try to elevate it above what its predecessors did. It was also an intriguing mystery, as I watched with deep intent to find all the hidden clues and see if I could identify who the passenger was (I correctly guessed right way before Neeson's character did). Yes, there's plot holes big enough to drive a train through, but the action more than makes up for it - even if there's particular scenes (such as the whole train derailing) that look as awful as any SyFy Original.
When it comes to the actors, Liam Neeson is obviously in his element, and he commands the stage, which is a good thing because absolutely everyone else has nothing going for them. I absolutely adore Vera Farmiga, but her only scenes were the ones from the trailer, as she then communicates with Neeson's character through a cell phone. Patrick Wilson (who has co-starred with Farmiga in both "Conjuring" films) is also under-developed as Michael's best friend and detective. Then there's Jonathan Banks, best known for his role on "Breaking Bad," who appears here as Walt (nice), a fellow commuter who...is just another commuter that could've been given to any no-name actor. Still, there's no doubt that Neeson owns this movie, and he does impressive work, especially for a man his age.
The most unintentional - or maybe intentional, I don't know - humorous moments is with the biting social commentary, which are as throwaway as most of the characters. Michael is of the lower-middle-class society, as is obvious by his worries about money and sending his son to a good college. He felt secure in his job, where he's been working at for ten years, until he's surprisingly laid off. He laments that he lives hand-to-mouth, and doesn't know how he will provide for his family. On the train, he finds a corporate stock broker who's as stock as you could imagine (talks on a Bluetooth, dressed to the nines, egotistical, self-centered, pompous) and gives him the good ole American middle finger and tells him it's for the little guy. I can see how this concept aided in the continuation of the story (if Neeson was a rich man, he'd have no need to do the deed for money), but it could've been more flushed out than it was. It also throws away the intriguing concept Joanna introduces - what kind of person are you? What would you do for money? It's interesting, but not necessarily the point of this film. The point, simply, is to see Liam Neeson risk his life and participate in several stylized action sequences. To that end, they hit a homerun.
The Summary:
Liam Neeson is one of today's most talented action stars, and "The Commuter" is the final chapter of his action career, resulting in a non-stop action suspense you'd expect from the star.
The Score: B+
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