The Commuter
(2017)Lives are on the line.
Crime conspiracy thriller from the director of Unknown, Non-Stop and The Shallows. Stars Liam Neeson, Sam Neill, Vera Farmiga, and Breaking Bad's Jonathan Banks.... More
Liam Neeson stars as insurance salesman, Michael, on his daily commute home which quickly becomes anything but routine. After being contacted by a mysterious stranger, Michael is forced to uncover the identity of a hidden passenger on the train before the last stop. As he works against the clock to solve the puzzle, he realises a deadly plan is unfolding and is unwittingly caught up in a criminal conspiracy. One that carries life and death stakes, for himself and his fellow passengers.Hide
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Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra ('Unknown', 'The Shallows', 'Orphan')
Starring Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga, Sam Neill, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth McGovern, Jonathan Banks, Dean-Charles Chapman, Florence Pugh
Written by Byron Willinger, Philip de Blasi
Out Now (On-Demand,
DVD or Blu-Ray)
On Demand, DVD & Blu-Ray
Available from 6 providers
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The Commuter
BY MariaC lister
Don't think too much about the obvious results (without giving the game away) - any action shots might have you thinking "yeah right" - but just don't think. It kept my attention but the storyline slightly ridiculous. Liam Neeson is very watchable and there is a pretty good cast that makes the more bearable. I'd see it again - good time killer.
The Press Reviews
Taut, inventive, and never in danger of overplaying its hand, The Commuter is a robust and rather old-fashioned thriller... Full Review
Liam Neeson and Jaume Collet-Serra again team up for another stylish and pulpy Hitchcock homage. Full Review
You know where it’s going and it gets you there perfectly well, but in a few years’ time you’d be hard pressed to distinguish it from dozens of similar journeys. Full Review
Thoroughly enjoyable to watch if totally forgettable once you leave the theatre, The Commuter feels like one of those films they simply don't make anymore, at least in Hollywood. Full Review
The frequent collaborators hurtle through the expected with an unshakable been-there, done-that air. They're competent and confident, but they're simply, uninspiringly retracing their usual route. Full Review
Collet-Serra cranks up this locomotive as he knows best, building as much breathless, senseless real-time momentum as possible before train and plot go simultaneously, albeit spectacularly, off the rails. Full Review
It's Neeson Time, and it's not in the man to let us down. Full Review
It's not even very good as a genre exercise, and can't always keep track of which genre muscles it wants to flex. Full Review
BY Tony Stamp Flicks Writer
Jaume Collet-Serra has a flair for the absurd. His films hit that sweet spot where art meets trash, going right up to the line of implausibility then cheerfully sailing over it. They’re wildly entertaining, and Collet-Serra is no hack - his films are well made, he just has no interest in restraint or realism.... More
The Commuter is the Spanish director’s fourth team up with Liam Neeson, after the amnesia mystery Unknown, plane-based whodunit Non-Stop and disappointing NYC thriller Run All Night. It’s the pair's most successful outing, despite basically sharing a plot with Non-Stop. Just, on a train this time.
Once again Neeson is at the whim of a mysterious stranger on the other end of a phone (this time we know it’s Vera Farmiga right off the bat). Tasked with finding a certain passenger without knowing their appearance, Neeson ambles up and down the carriages like an especially rumpled Poirot. Conveniently, he turns out to be an ex-cop.
The mystery is good enough. Collet-Serra is a student of Hitchcock, and his visual nods to the British master are more than just window dressing.
He also orchestrates action scenes so ludicrous you expect him to lean into frame and wink at the audience. There are two showstoppers here, one an extended fight scene that emulates the long takes of The Raid and Atomic Blonde to great effect, another that leans heavily on CGI without turning into a complete pixelf*ck.
Most impressive is how engaging it all stays while remaining in one location. The camera pirouettes though the train as familiar actors act vaguely suspiciously, and before long they each fall under Neeson’s piercing gaze.
The Commuter doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s a solid enough thriller, as relentless as its sixty five-year-old lead actor and eager to entertain, logic be damned.Hide
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