If you like Liam Neeson movies, you will like The Commuter. In this film, Liam Neeson plays Liam Neeson. Yeah, the same character as in Taken, A Walk Among the Tombstonesand others. I like Neeson. But he seems far removed from his performance as Oskar Schindler. His roles all seem to be hardened old man revenge flicks these days. He has become the modern day Charles Bronson (although Bruce Willis will be taking on that classic franchise in the coming months). According to IMDb, Neeson was actually considered for the role. Surprise, surprise.
Michael MacCauley (Neeson) is a former cop who quit the job to sell insurance. His life is clockwork. He catches the train from his rural Tarrytown home into the city everyday, grinding out a hand-to-mouth existence to support his small family. He left law enforcement because of the toll it was taking on his family. Unfortunately, we catch up with MacCauley on his last day working for an insurance company. With two mortgages on his house and a son preparing to attend Syracuse in the fall, MacCauley is given a pink slip. He has a couple of beers at the local police watering hole before heading home on his normal evening train. He shares his beer with his former police partner, Alex (Patrick Wilson).
After a few stops, when he is able to settle into a seat, MacCauley is approached by an attractive woman (Vera Farmiga), who proposes a hypothetical situation. Only, it is not hypothetical. For the price of 100,000 dollars, MacCauley agrees to locate a passenger on the train who is not a regular commuter. This passenger is supposed to get off at the Cold Springs stop, so he has a bit of time to work with. But he is working against the clock, and eventually his conscience as the bigger picture begins to reveal itself. The arrangement becomes a game of survival. For MacCauley. For an unknown witness to a crime. For MacCauley's family. And potentially, every other passenger on the train.
The Commuter is part thriller, part crime story and mostly action. The film requires quite a bit of misdirection to keep audiences guessing. The trade off is a contrived set of circumstances that make very little sense. The film attempts to reconcile the disparities, but there are gaping holes and plot lines that make no sense. For instance, why send a witness out of the city on a train unprotected? That was the most glaring issue for me. You are in the city. The witness is allegedly headed to a safe house. It would make more sense for the witness to secure in place and send agents to escort the witness to the safe house. And since when does an NYPD Captain, particularly one out of his jurisdiction, "assume command" of a hostage situation from the FBI? The plot was contrived, forced and full of holes. If you are able to reconcile the gaps and just enjoy the action, then you won't be disappointed. The film is packed with action and the tension created will have you gripping the seat at times.
The action was well orchestrated. Director Jaume Collet-Serra is no stranger to this format. He has worked on quite a few films (several with Neeson) that depend on fast pacing to propel the film forward. Non-Stop and Run All Night come to mind. Neeson does what Neeson does. He delivers a tense performance. He still has it. The man is sixty-five years old and can still sell a convincing hero role. It may be typecast, but that is because he does it well. The rest of the cast contains familiar faces, although most of the roles have limited interaction with Neeson's character. A couple of bigger names are Farmiga and Wilson, who are both solid in their limited roles. The casting was well done. The script calls for a diverse set of characters with a variety of personalities and histories. MacCauley works his way through the supporting cast in his quest to discover a mystery passenger. In the sense that the action takes place on a train, the film worked. It felt like a train (generally a moving train) and the characters felt like real people, in spite of the fact that the characters don't get much development individually.
At one hour and 45 minutes, The Commuter is just the right length. The film has great pacing, which moves the action along. It doesn't bog down, so the time goes by pretty fast. The film received a PG-13 rating from the MPAA based mostly on the violence and intense situations. There is also some strong language and some consumption of alcohol. This film is pretty tame. No sex, no drugs. Personally, I wouldn't restrict this film by age. It did not contain anything I would worry about young viewers seeing.
This film "is what it is." It is an action film with a bit of mystery thrown in. It is contrived, it is forced and it contains plot holes. Some of the situations seem absurd when examined critically. But then, do we watch action films for the reality they contain? Generally? No. But I like my action films to have a bit more credibility than this film. Neeson was solid. He was credible as an old man fighting guys a third his age. The cast was pretty good. The action was well paced and the feeling that this all takes place on a train was a good illusion. Ultimately, this film was not perfect. It is a rainy day film on video. I would only recommend a matinee viewing if you like to see action on the big screen. 6.5/10.
