The Commuter (2018)

One of a number of generic action vehicles that director Jaume Collet-Sera made with star Liam Neeson, The Commuter has very little to recommend it. And yet, surprisingly, there are treats hidden away within it.

Neeson plays Michael, an ex-cop who now works for a life insurance company. Well . . . worked for them. He is let go, which means his train ride home may well be his last commute for a while. He ends up engaged in conversation with a woman (Vera Farmiga) who makes him a hypothetical offer of thousands of dollars to identify an individual on the train. The offer is less hypothetical than it first appears, however, and Michael ends up trying to find this person while also trying to save the lives of everyone on the train.

As preposterous and predictable as you think it’s going to be, The Commuter is also, like a number of other Neeson-led action vehicles, easy entertainment when you want something pretty brisk and silly. A lot of that is thanks to Neeson himself, of course, and many people will know in advance whether they want to see another action thriller barely indistinguishable from the many other action thrillers he has made over the past decade.

The script is nonsense. It’s hard to believe that three people - Ryan Engle, Philip de Blasi, and Byron Willinger - came together to complete this. Engle is the one with a few other decent titles to his name, including another Neeson vehicle, but this is very much “paint by numbers” around the star, and Collet-Sera directs it as one. There’s one genuinely tense moment, involving Neeson being stuck under the train at one point, but everything else plays out in a way that people will find completely unsurprising. Which may make it a comfortable viewing choice, as it was for me. 

The supporting cast is where you get some treats to make this worth your time. As well as Farmiga, there’s a supporting role for her long-time onscreen hubby (Ed Warren), Patrick Wilson. Sam Neill has a very small role, and he is always welcome. Jonathan Banks is as good as ever, as are both Andy Nyman and Florence Pugh. Clara Lago, Ella-Rae Smith, Roland Møller, Colin McFarlane, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, and Adam Nagaitis all do well enough, playing a variety of characters put in peril by the wild scheme that has Neeson at the heart of it.

Absolutely inessential, absolutely forgettable, and absolutely ridiculous, this is also a film that is absolutely easy to choose to watch when you are searching for something that won’t challenge you or cause you to overthink anything. You could even watch it during your own commute, if you have the time. 

4/10

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Crocodile Dundee In Los Angeles (2001)

Coming along 13 years after the second film, Crocodile Dundee In Los Angeles is almost the very definition of an unnecessary and unwanted sequel. It's not a complete dud, and I laughed on a few occasions, but it's nowhere near as good as the previous films, and it really adds nothing to the characters beyond anything you could have imagined happening after the credits rolled at the end of the second film.

Paul Hogan returns to his most famous role, Mick Dundee, this time travelling to LA with his partner, Sue (Linda Kozlowski, also returning), and their young son (Mike, played by Serge Cockburn). Sue ends up investigating some possible shenanigans, Mick encounters more differences between cultures with the Los Angelean people, and the whole thing winds ever so languidly towards an unexciting finale that it's hard to care about.

It's obvious that this wasn't created as a passion project for those involved. Someone wanted to make some money, and they thought that this brand would be a good way to do that. Except it didn't. Well, it may have made some individuals money but it didn't make much of an impression in the worldwide box office, especially compared to the previous two movies.

Hogan already looks too old to still be up to the antics we see here, Kozlowski is just fine, and young Cockburn is required to do little beyond be the kid with the awesome father. Jere Burns and Jonathan Banks are both wasted in their roles, with neither given enough to do in their main scenes, but Alec Wilson is good fun as Mick's pal, Jacko.

The poor script was written by Matt Berry and Eric Abrams, the two obviously relying on established jokes and goodwill to carry the film along for the majority of the runtime (unless they had some amazing ideas that were mercilessly chopped out), and Simon Wincer is the person responsible for the lacklustre direction.

Not only is this a film that's hard to love or hate, it's one that's hard to muster the energy to write too much about. It's just there. We all know why it was made, we all know that it felt majorly dated as soon as it came out, and we all know that it's one even completist movie collectors won't bother about if they can get the first two films in a cheap and convenient double-pack. Crocodile Dundee In Los Angeles? They maybe should have just titled it Dundee III: Croc Of S**t.

4/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can pick it up here.

Horrible Bosses 2 (2014)

The biggest thing going against enjoyable comedy sequel Horrible Bosses 2 is that it, inevitably, pales in comparison to the first movie. But the biggest thing going for it is just how close it comes to providing as many laughs and great lines for anyone, like myself, who really liked the first movie.

All of the main players return for this meander through familiar territory. Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day are now about to go into business for themselves, hoping to make a success of their Shower Buddy invention. They're made an offer by Rex Hanson (Chris Pine), which they refuse. They're immediately made a more attractive offer by Rex's father, Bert (Christoph Waltz), and they seize that one with both hands. But things aren't quite what they seem, which sees our incompetent trio attempting to turn to crime once again, this time with a spot of kidnapping on the agenda instead of murder.

Director Sean Anders, who also helped to write the screenplay with John Morris, has done a surprisingly decent job here of avoiding the usual pitfalls of comedy sequels. Yes, it replicates the beats of the first movie, but it does so in a way that never feels as if it's trying to desperately outdo what came before. Perhaps downgrading the main crime from murder to kidnapping dictated the planned perimeter of the gags, or perhaps everyone involved was just so busy having a good time on set that they had faith in the humour being infection, instead of planning the film around a few set-pieces.

Arguing over walkie-talkies about potential codenames, Bateman distracting a group of people by talking about pretend sex addiction, Jonathan Banks being a tenacious cop, a wonderful moment bringing people together with the power of Predator - these are just a few of the highlights.

As well as the lead trio, Kevin Spacey also returns to raise a few laughs as the "original" horrible boss Dave Harken, Jennifer Aniston brings more filthy chuckles as sex-pest dentist Julia Harris, and Jamie Foxx has more fun as "Motherfucker" Jones. They all come back on top form, and are given a few great scenes each. On the other hand, Waltz is sadly wasted in his role. He does well enough, but is only really a motivating factor for the plot and nothing more. Pine, who gets much more screentime, makes up for that slight disappointment with his performance, which is hilarious at times. The biggest laughs, however, come once more from Day. Bateman and Sudeikis get their share of funny lines, although once again Bateman is stuck trying to be the voice of reason at times, but it's Day who seems to always make the most of every line/reaction to events.

Let's not mince words here. This is glossy, mainstream stuff. It's aiming to be a crowd-pleaser. That's an aim that I think it succeeds in achieving. There aren't many BIG laughs, although many of the gags had me laughing out loud every few minutes, and anyone who doesn't like it can write it off as yet another lazy sequel. Yet I think fans of the first movie will easily find plenty to enjoy here. It's a no-brainer, which I realise is another criticism that anyone disliking this movie can level at it.

7/10

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Dark Blue (2002)

It's April 1992. A turbulent time for Los Angeles, with all eyes watching the trial of the police officers accused in the beating of Rodney King. If those men are acquitted, the whole city might just burn. Kurt Russell stars as Eldon Perry, a policeman who was brought up by gunslingers and sees himself as a man who does a lot of things wrong to get the right results. His superior (Brendan Gleeson) agrees, he knows that whenever he wants ANY mess cleaned up he can ask Perry to get it done. Unfortunately, many other people view Perry as a monster including his wife (Lolita Davidovich), his young partner (Scott Speedman) and an officer (Ving Rhames) intent on uncovering the truth about a recent shooting incident and, in turn, corruption within the LAPD. In fact, as the movie unfolds, Perry starts to think about his own actions and how others view him. He starts to suspect that they may be right.

Written by James Ellroy and David Ayer, this is exactly the sort of thing you'd expect from the writers of L.A. Confidential and Training Day, respectively. Eldon Perry is a larger than life character, a bit of a bully and a braggart even to those he loves, and his moral compass has been thrown so far out of whack that it's unsure whether or not he can find his direction again. Ron Shelton does a great job in the director's chair, allowing for the actors to do their best with the material while he makes sure that all of the threads are winding together to complete the big finale.

Russell excels in the lead role, it's arguably his best performance from his 21st century filmography. He IS a bit of a monster and a horrible person, overall, but he's also a fully fleshed-out character with moments that show that he does have a heart (one scene with him being yelled at by Gleeson really starts to make him slightly sympathetic, while another involving Davidovich reading out a letter to him turns into something unexpectedly affecting). Speedman is okay in his role, he's young and acts naive enough and that's what's needed of him. Gleeson is superb, but Gleeson is always superb. In this movie, however, he's even more superb than usual, his performance sharpened by the gradual development of his true character. Ving Rhames, ahhhh Ving Rhames, he gives a subdued, sweet performance that reminds you of the actor who once seemed so great. Why did he ever start to take roles in every other Straight To Disc (or STD, if you will) piece of nonsense? I'll never know. Thankfully, there will always be performances like this one to look back on. Lolita Davidovich and Jonathan Banks have their supporting roles that allow them one or two moments to shine. And shine they do. Michael Michele may have the most thankless role, but she does okay with it.

Putting these characters together and seeing how things unfold makes for a solid drama. Setting everything on the brink of those 1992 L.A. riots makes for something much more. It's tense, it's incendiary and it's an unflinching reminder of just how easily corruption can insidiously filter through even the most well-meaning of people.

8/10

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