The Commuter (2018)

There was a time when I loved watching action flicks, especially those starring Liam Neeson. I don’t know why but I just loved the man. I no longer am a fan of those movies and I think Neeson is at his best when he is far away from the action —Schindler’s List, Love, Actually— but I decided to check out The Commuter anyway as it looked like a silly movie to enjoy during the holidays. Silly, it is. Enjoyable, not so much.

The film follows Michael MacCauley (Liam Neeson), a former cop turned insurance salesman. He goes through the same routine every day, a routine that includes taking the same commuter train and interacting with the other commuters. One day he’s fired from his job and, on his way home, he is approached by a woman (Vera Farmiga) who offers him £ 100,000 to identify which passenger does not belong.

In other words, it’s basically the plot to Non-Stop, only it takes place on a train instead of a plane. It is utterly ridiculous, clichéd and beyond predictable —I knew that twist would come right from the start because you don’t use that actor for a few minutes only. Unless you have the people who are watching your film for that actor. It’s got so many holes, it could beat Swiss cheese in a holes competition if there was such a thing.

The worst part is the main character though. At the beginning, Michael MacCauley is established as an average, ordinary guy who has commuted to work on the same train every working day for 10 years. So when he finds himself in that situation, I was intrigued. Unfortunately, we learn pretty soon that he is a former cop and he ends up being the same, uninteresting character Liam Neeson has been playing for the past 10 years, the one-dimensional badass. The problem? Neeson is 66-year-old —he plays a 60-year-old dude here though— and he is just not believable as someone who beats the shit out of a fit 45-year-old man. 

StudioCanal UK, Lionsgate

As for the supporting characters, they are forgettable to say the least as they have no development nor characterization whatsoever. The performances are just as forgettable. Also, why waste Jonathan Banks and Elizabeth McGovern with characters that are barely in the film?

The action isn't that good either. Actually, The Commuter would have done better without the action sequences since they are pretty dull and unexciting. As for the visuals, they are pretty dreadful. Overall, the film is just a huge disappointment, as it's not nearly as enjoyable and entertaining as a Collet-Serra/Neeson action flick usually is.