Film Review – Cleaner (2025)

There’s always room for a “Die Hard” knockoff. The influential 1988 actioner has inspired a whole bunch of imitators using the central idea of one heroic character battling many villainous ones inside a single location. “Cleaner” seems to have the working parts, mostly taking place around a high rise building, and a team of terrorists are interrupting a business celebration, putting the safety of all in the hands of someone who isn’t supposed to be in the building. And yet, the feature (scripted by Simon Uttley, Paul Andrew Williams, and Matthew Orton) isn’t fully giving into the John McClane way. Perhaps there’s not enough of a budget to really go wild, keeping the physical highlights of “Cleaner” to the final act. While mayhem is limited, the picture remains entertaining, taking on a different kind of antagonistic force, and star Daisy Ridley provides welcome spiritedness, giving director Martin Campbell (who recently fumbled “Dirty Angels”) something to work with as the writing finds its way to more dynamic events. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com