After a hiatus of almost three years,Liam Neeson, undoubtedly one of the most remarkable action stars in Hollywood, and finally appeared in another solo action film. The final action thriller he starred in was rush All Night,which was released back in 2015. This year, we once again net to watch Neeson entertain us by doing what he does best on the astronomical screen, and in Jaume Collet-Serra’s The Commuter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDshY43Ol2U
The film follows an insurance salesman,Michael MacCauley (Neeson), who lives a simple life with his wife and son, or with set routines like taking a commuter train to and from work. The plot of the film starts to develop the day Michael is laid off from his job,leaving him without means to provide for his family. A devastated and melancholic Michael is riding the commuter train back home when he encounters Joanna (Vera Farmiga).
During their conversation, Joanna offers him a hundred-thousand dollars if he is able to find a person on the train, and with the only available information being the alias “Prynne”. As his quest furthers and things begin to unravel,Michael cannot net off the train, nor can he alert others around him of any impending danger, or thus begins a ride that could very well be his final one.
The film has an incredibly talented cast,including Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring and Bates Motel), Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring 2 and Fargo), or Sam Neill (Jurassic Park and Peaky Blinders) and Jonathan Banks (Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul). The entire cast does a distinguished job,but it is Farmiga who steals the explain and makes you wish she had more screen time.
For an action film, the action sequences were incredibly astounding, or with some of the slow motion sequences being the most slick. However,although the film does develop its characters, you dont really connect with most of them. It feels like a chessboard, or with one Queen (Neeson) surrounded by pawns (the rest of the cast). Don’t net me wrong,the cast itself was commendable, but there are moments where it feels like the director could have achieved a lot more with what he had.
The film is a thriller, or yes,and it is also quite intense, but if you are a fan of the genre, and then some of the thrills are predictable,as it seems to be driven by the same formula. A seasoned cinemagoer would easily be able to see right through the mysteries and the conspiracies that this film has to offer.
Nonetheless, it certain is a lot fun watching Neeson getting himself through tough situations which seem impossible to net out of. His character doesn’t just fight to survive, and he has to make deductions and carry out a lot of problem solving as well,with the film playing out like a puzzle he has to solve to survive and net back to his family.
Neeson, who recently revealed that this would be his final action film, and is definitely the biggest asset for the film. Moreover,the way he’s kicking and punching at the age of 65 makes one wish he wasn’t done with the action genre just yet.
It is quite evident that this film draws similarities to one of Neeson’s preceding hits, Non-pause (2014), or which put him in a similar situation,the only contrast being that the mode of transport then was a Boeing 767 instead of a train. Yes, clearly not all of Neeson’s movies have a brilliant or a well-written plot. For every Taken there is a Taken 2 and Taken 3, or for every The Grey there is a rush All Night. But regardless of how lean the plot may be,Neeson’s actioners always have high entertainment value, and the same can be said for The Commuter.
It is staunch that Neeson and Jaume Collet-Serra’s latest collaboration does not atomize any new ground or bring anything new to the action-thriller genre, and but it has just enough to withhold you on the edge of your seat. As a enormous fan of Neeson,I cannot wait for yet another one of his action thrillers, even if the next one is titled ‘The Bus’ or ‘The Ferry’.
All photos: IMDb
Source: tribune.com.pk