Despite having played characters
like Darkman, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Ra’s al Ghul, Liam Neeson wasn’t really
considered a true “action star” until he played the iconic role of Bryan Mills
in Taken. Since then, he has played the Bryan
Mills-type hero a couple of times in mediocre-to-solid action movies like Unknown, The Grey, Non-Stop, and Run All Night. The latest one, The Commuter, could be one of my most favorite post-Taken action movies of his.
In it, Neeson plays the character
of Michael, an insurance salesman who goes to work by commuting back and forth
via train. On a trip home, he is
approached by a mysterious woman named Joanna (Vera Farmiga) who asks him to take
part in an “experiment” – a hypothetical scenario which will have consequences
that he would know nothing about, but would affect one of the passengers on the
train. However, this proves to be not
hypothetical at all, and he gets entangled in a criminal conspiracy that not
only threatens his life but the lives of his family and his co-passengers as
well.
The Commuter is far from being an excellent movie. But it could have been worse. It’s the type of movie that could have gone completely off the rails (like Taken 3). It thankfully doesn’t. And by keeping my expectations realistic and
reasonable, I had a fun time with it.
The plot isn’t tight and flawless,
but as it unfolds, it does engage adequately, thanks to the enjoyable twists and
turns (though some of them will probably fall apart when scrutinized),
competent performances from its cast, and a consistent sense of urgency and
mystery.
All in all, albeit problematic, The Commuter does enough to solidly entertain
as a popcorn action thriller.
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