MOVIE REVIEW: The Commuter

Liam Neeson stars in an action movie that a lot of people out there who have to ride the morning and late afternoon train will identify with, apart from the fighting, and gun shots, and killing of Government witnesses.Â Unless you live in that kind of area.

At this point we’re about 6 months since Liam Neeson had his latest ‘I’m too old for action movies’ outburst.Â We’re about due so.Â The truth is that he’s going to star in these types of films for as long as the pay-day is large and the box office isn’t awful.Â The Taken Movies did get progressively worse through the numbers, but I did like A Walk Among the Tombstones, so it’s been a mixed bag from his Neesonness over the years.

Here Neeson plays a Life Insurance salesman, who used to be a cop, that gets fired without warning from his job.Â He and his family are struggling already with a second Mortgage, a kid in college, and no savings to fall back on so the firing is hitting him hard.Â A stranger on the train comes up to him on his commute home and offers him a task with a huge payout.Â At first he believes all he has to do is identify someone on the train who looks out-of-place, but soon it turns into a cat and mouse game, where the only way to save those he loves is to push through and kill a Government witness.

The description of this film alone sounds like the most generic action film from the 1990’s.Â For the most part it feels that way too.Â There are a few references in the film that move it into modern times, like the financial breakdown of 2008, which still affects the hard-working people who didn’t even cause the crash.Â This makes it more modern in the feel of the film and it’s nice that Neeson is playing closer to his age and looks tired as usual.Â The opening of the film goes through nearly a year of the characters life commuting from his home into New York I give the film makers credit for this it shows the horrid repetitive nature of the long commute.

Neeson can do this role in his sleep.Â Vera Farmiga plays the enigmatic stranger who brings him into the twisted game, and is shockingly underused in this role, we know this performer has the stuff of legend in her arsenal, but here is just a few minutes of a baddie.Â The same goes for Patrick Wilson who plays Neeson’s cop friend, and for Sam Neill who has four lines in the whole film.Â But my gripes about squandered talent to one side if there were lesser stars in these roles then you would feel it in the quality of the film.

It’s really mostly by the numbers, and maybe it’s the fact that I’ve had a few weeks off, but I found The Commuter to be a very enjoyable film.Â It’s not going to be the next Taken, or the next big thing in action movies, but it’s enjoyable.Â That phrase is big with me.Â I think too many films miss the mark with enjoyment, they want to be high-end, or think they are better than they are, The Commuter doesn’t think that.Â It knows that the aging Neeson has a few of these films left in him, the audience knows what to expect and they’re going to get it.Â This is a film where you go for a few beers, a pizza, and you and your mates just let the evening go by with a an actioneer that is your ticket to ride to a good night out.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]