Renny Harlin is a director whose talent seems to have diminished with every film he's made in the last twenty years. He first came to my attention with DIE HARD 2, one of my favourite movies all time, and then delivered a couple more entertaining movies during the 1990s (namely, the ones without Geena Davis: CLIFFHANGER and DEEP BLUE SEA). Since then, his once solid talent seems to be floundering: he made what might be Stallone's worst ever movie, DRIVEN, and then one of the worst films I've seen in a good while: 2006's THE COVENANT. CLEANER is his next film after that, and the good news is that it's better than its predecessor, but still a disappointing outing.
The problem is that, despite a fine cast, this film looks and feels like a TV movie. The scripting is the worst thing about it, a sub-standard effort heavily derived from the likes of CSI. Although it's meant to be a thriller, this is a film utterly devoid of thrills; only the strength of the acting kept me watching. There's one good twist at the outset and then everything plays out in a conventional, seen-it-all-before way. The worst thing is the villain reveal, which is so completely expected it's actually wince-inducing, along with the whole reason for that person being the villain as well.
Samuel L Jackson is a fine actor who seems to be mired in sub-standard material lately (SNAKES ON A PLANE anyone?). He gives a typically fine performance here, but his considerable talents are wasted. The same goes for Ed Harris, saddled with a nothing role. I was delighted to see Luis Guzman pop up in a larger role than he's usually given, and he's great too, although again wasted. Robert Forster delivers a cameo but the female lead is given to the horrendous Eva Mendes who never convinces for a second. This cold actress never ignites the screen and she's very poor here – although not quite as bad as she is in GHOST RIDER.
Aside from the grisly death clean-up scenes (some of which left me feeling distinctly sickened) there's absolutely nothing to remember about this film – it's just another run-of-the-mill outing and nothing to get excited about.
The problem is that, despite a fine cast, this film looks and feels like a TV movie. The scripting is the worst thing about it, a sub-standard effort heavily derived from the likes of CSI. Although it's meant to be a thriller, this is a film utterly devoid of thrills; only the strength of the acting kept me watching. There's one good twist at the outset and then everything plays out in a conventional, seen-it-all-before way. The worst thing is the villain reveal, which is so completely expected it's actually wince-inducing, along with the whole reason for that person being the villain as well.
Samuel L Jackson is a fine actor who seems to be mired in sub-standard material lately (SNAKES ON A PLANE anyone?). He gives a typically fine performance here, but his considerable talents are wasted. The same goes for Ed Harris, saddled with a nothing role. I was delighted to see Luis Guzman pop up in a larger role than he's usually given, and he's great too, although again wasted. Robert Forster delivers a cameo but the female lead is given to the horrendous Eva Mendes who never convinces for a second. This cold actress never ignites the screen and she's very poor here – although not quite as bad as she is in GHOST RIDER.
Aside from the grisly death clean-up scenes (some of which left me feeling distinctly sickened) there's absolutely nothing to remember about this film – it's just another run-of-the-mill outing and nothing to get excited about.