Cleaner

Cast View all

	Clive Owen	Marcus
	Daisy Ridley	Joey
	Atanas Srebrev	American Newsreader
	Lee Boardman	Gerald Milton
	Ray Fearon	DI Khan
	Akie Kotabe	James Horsley
	Richard Hope	Alastair Lawson
	Stella Stocker	Jennifer
	Rufus Jones	Geoffrey Milton
	Ruth Gemmell	DS Hume
	Roy Hill	British Newsreader
	Howard Charles	Captain Royce
	Celine Abrahams	Kate
	Kate Nichols	Care Home Admin
	Daniel Joseph Woolf	Party Goer
	Jorge Leon Martinez	Police Officer
	Emilia Klayn	Middle East Newsreader
	Gavin Fleming	Derek
	Einar Haraldsson	Josh
	Flavia Camilla	Zee
	Taz Skylar	Noah
	Melanie Gray	Alison
	Konstantin Tomasini	Unconscious Guy
	David Cheung	Vince
	Simon Strutt	VIP Party Guest

Crew View all

Director	Martin Campbell
Writer	Simon Uttley, Paul Andrew Williams, Matthew Orton
Producer	Chris Arthur, Alex Ashworth, Alastair Burlingham, Mikayla Soo-ni Campbell, Martha Chima, Cindy Cowan, Kathleen Debrincat, Valentin Dimitrov, Pieter Engels, Tom Fanning, Bharatha Gangasani, Barry Germansky, Gavin Glendinning, Callum Grant, Alan Harper, Kalyn Harper, Linda Harper, Patti Harper, Stanley Harper, Lee Harrison, Jane Hooks, Michael Kuhn, Matthew Orton, Paul Parker, Gary Raskin, Sébastien Raybaud, Kelly Lynn Reiter, Malcolm Ritchie, Michael A Santos XIII, Regina Seifert
Musician	Tom Hodge
Photography	Eigil Hensen

Trailer

Edition details

Personal

Notes

My quick rating - 5.5/10. Die Hard meets Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning in Cleaner, a high-altitude action thriller that delivers solid fight choreography and well-filmed sequences but struggles to elevate itself beyond standard popcorn fare.

Daisy Ridley stars as Joey, an ex-soldier-turned-window-cleaner who finds herself in an impossible situation, suspended 50 storeys (before you spellcheck, that is the British spelling ;) up outside a London skyscraper when a group of radical activists storm an energy company’s gala, taking 300 hostages, including her younger, autistic brother. What follows is a race against time as Joey battles both the terrorists and the unforgiving elements, scaling the building in a desperate bid to save those trapped inside.

Ridley commits fully to the physical demands of the role, and the action sequences are crisp, well-choreographed, and engaging. The setup is refreshing in that it flips the usual Die Hard-style formula, keeping Joey on the outside looking in, which leads to some tense, vertigo-inducing stunts. However, where Cleaner falters is in its character development and storytelling. Joey’s personal stakes, particularly the sibling dynamic meant to drive her motivation, feel undercooked, making it difficult to form a strong emotional connection.

Clive Owen, unfortunately, is given little to do, a disappointing waste of talent in what could have been a memorable supporting role. The villains are serviceable but lack the depth to be truly compelling, and the film doesn’t offer much in terms of originality beyond its unique premise.

That said, if you go in expecting a straightforward action flick, Cleaner delivers enough entertainment to be worth a watch. It’s a well-executed but ultimately forgettable thriller that does just enough to keep you engaged—nothing more, nothing less.

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