I would describe the commuter as
Hitchcock meets die hard
watered-down but hey even though it was
seriously diluted it still did remind me
of Hitchcock and die hard and that's
pretty darn good yes this thriller has
some glorious moments chiefly because
Liam Neeson is still a true movie star
you know recently he played mark felt
that was a really strong movie I don't
know if it was really a theater worthy
experience but I really enjoyed it and I
don't know if it was for that movie
specifically but he slimmed down a lot
and he's kept that look and he looks
more like a movie star than ever and
then also nobody can squeeze more out of
a single location than Joan Colette
Sarah it is a marvel to behold
particularly if you're interested in
filmmaking right you know you can kind
of see what's going on behind the scenes
and you're like wow a single location
does not limit you Joe and collide Sarah
he was considered for Suicide Squad 2
for a while there and I was like wow if
it takes place all in one location he's
your guy he's supposed to also do Jungle
Cruise and I guess if they want to keep
it on the on the on the boat you'd also
do an amazing job but by the end of the
movie you know what hits you like a
train the realization that this is just
another low-budget Liam Neeson action
err and he's just made so many of them
at this point most with Joan Colette
Sarah alright so let's start with what
works I really love the opening of the
film it very cleverly establishes Liam
Neeson's daily routine as a commuter in
a fresh modern way like they start out
it's a lot of quick cuts basically and I
just want to warn you and even though
the 1010 wins coming on is super
annoying they know when to stop right
that's not going to go on for too long
because when the movie started I was
like oh how many times are you gonna
startle me you know out of bed with this
hard cut to 1010 wins waking Liam Neeson
up but overall it was really a nice
piece of filmmaking and by the way Liam
Neeson wears a suit like nobody's
business there is a shot in the opening
of him walking across Grand Central
Station
you know the main part of the terminal
and his suit is changing with the days
but he just stays the same as he walks
and he just ooze
movie star that shot in particular did a
lot for this movie I was more forgiving
toward the beginning as that still you
know my my how impressed I was with that
still kind of washed over me alright so
there also there is an excellent action
sequence in the middle of the film
between Liam Neeson and while I don't
want to give it away but while I'm sure
it's cheated with cuts and sped up film
it plays as one long take for the fight
scene as it moves all over the train and
it's really inventive and very well done
again I was taking a little bit out of
it you know the movie isn't horribly
engaging and I was like oh I would like
this for Suicide Squad too this is a
good choice he didn't get the gig but I
can see why he was considered and there
are a lot of nice directing flourishes
throughout the film Joan collect Sara I
think it's definitely a talented
director and as I said nobody can
squeeze more out of a single location
than this guy being a plane a Cove or
now a train alright now speaking of not
wanting to give anything away the movie
does have some good twists that in a lot
of cases I did not see coming and then
in other cases I didn't I didn't see
them coming us a little very last moment
so that's impressive I also thought it
was cool to have a female villain and
even though she isn't used very much via
for Mia certainly makes an impression
when she is in the movie and she might
have found herself a new chapter in her
career I know she's Norman Bates's
mother but she had like Kate Blanchet
vibes here right and Kate Blanchette
can't play all the female villains on
the big screen so very for me it would
be a nice backup choice and now for what
doesn't work alright so at this point as
I've said we've Justin Liam Neeson do
this too many damn times at this point
even though he's still giving it all
he's not phoning it in here but you've
just seen it before
especially with Joan collect Sarah
behind the camera so there's a sameness
that just seeps into it you know
especially as the movie goes on you're
like yeah I've done this but as for Joan
collect Sarah he eventually runs out of
cool angles particularly with the last
big scene of the movie and it's just too
static
a little too cheap we'll talk about some
of the actors which don't help and then
also the script just gets a little too
cheesy and therefore it's not as
impressive as the beginning of the movie
and unfortunately that's the note the
movie ends on and that's the
you have when you leave the theater
we've talked before about even if your
film house problems if you end on a
really strong note people will leave the
theater being like that was a great
movie and unfortunately this ends on one
of the films weaker notes
now there's one supporting character
also who's killed in the movie I don't
want to give it away but I want you to
know who it is so what had happens
you'll be like that's who she was
talking about there killed in a very
heroic fashion during the big train
derailment sequence which was a little
CGI heavy I think quite frankly but I I
know this is a movie right but I felt it
was so unfair and so tragic that this
character was killed and Liam Neeson
wasn't right I just kind of couldn't get
over it so that speaks to that after his
ability to really connect with me as an
audience goer in such a small role in
such a particularly small role so in a
very short amount of time and I guess
also to the script to some degree
although I think the script was cheating
a little bit this actor made it feel a
little bit more realistic but as for the
large supporting cast overall I had very
mixed feelings about them now I
appreciated that they represented I
think New York today accurately and they
were some interesting characters there I
thought it was nice but for the most
part the quality of the acting with it
with the supporting characters just it
wasn't only movie caliber but it wasn't
even TV caliber by today's standards
there was a lot of student film acting
in this movie and I think that's pretty
unforgivable for Liam Neeson and Joe
McCullough Sarah have worked so much at
this point right I mean I don't know if
that they were cheaping out but that's
what it was and maybe they made
themselves feel better like be like well
we're giving these new actors an
opportunity to be in a movie and I'm
like oh they're not going to go anywhere
because they're not good enough and you
just brought your movie down so spend a
little extra money on some better you
know some better actors I mean there are
some familiar faces here but
interestingly for the most part it's the
new face is to get the most screen time
and they just don't measure up even
though they seem like lovely people all
right so anyway also if you're wondering
why Liam Neeson son looks so familiar
that's because it's Tommen from Game of
Thrones it was driving me crazy
throughout the movie I was like who is
that so you're welcome now you know and
you don't have to be too distracted
throughout the film so should you see
the commuter
I mean if you really want to go to the
movies or later on down the line you
really want to stream a movie or you'll
want to watch it when you're traveling
etc again it certainly has its moments
and Liam Neeson is a movie star because
he has a particular set of skills and
sometimes we're in the mood to watch him
use those skills so asked whether or not
you want to buy a ticket to ride here
it's up to you it's a personal decision
because only you know if you're truly in
the mood for some standard Liam Neeson
action
alright so that's my review of the
commuter I'm very curious to hear your
thoughts down below since there are a
lot of surprises and twists in the movie
if you're going to put a spoiler comment
please be sure to mark it before you
write the spoiler and of course as
always you can check out some more
videos right now
