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Commuter, The

5/10

Stars: Liam Neeson, Vera Farmiga, Luke Wilson, Sam Neill, Elizabeth McGovern, Andy Nyman, Florence Pugh, Ella-Rae Smith

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

We all love a train movie, but this Liam Neeson thriller is completely unbelievable from start to finish. Of course there are excitements, as you would expect from this director and star, but the plot's total lack of credibility undercuts the suspense at every turn of the tracks.

Fired from his job after 10 years selling insurance, ex-cop Michael MacCauley (Neeson) doesn't know where the next cent to support his wife (McGovern) and bound-for-university son is coming from. His ex-partner Murphy (Wilson) buys him a drink, but can offer little consolation.

On the commuter train back home, however (it seems to take forever to get there), Michael is approached by a mystery woman (Farmiga), who asks his reaction if he were asked to do one little thing - track down someone called Prynne on the train, to find out what's in his/her bag.

Unlike Collet-Serra's previous hits, Non Stop (in which Neeson was again threatened by forces seemingly beyond control, this time on a plane) and The Shallows, this lacks believability both on basics and detail. As the bad guys already have a professional assassin on the train, why would they really need a commuter? This will doubtless be a crack DVD release, but thriller-film fans do deserve something better.

David Quinlan

USA 2018. UK Distributor: StudioCanal. Colour by deluxe.
100 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 12.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 0, Swearing 1.

Review date: 24 May 2018

DVD review