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Cleaner Review
Image Credit: Quiver Distribution
Loading...Cleaner Review
Daisy Ridley– Joey Locke
Taz Skylar– Noah
Clive Owen– Marcus Blake
Matthew Tuck– Michael
Ruth Gemmell– Superintendent Claire Hume
Lee Boardman– Gerald Milton
Rufus Jones– Geoffrey Milton
Gavin Fleming– Derek
(check out the rest of the cast here)
Directed by Martin Campbell
Screenplay by Matthew Orton, Simon Utley, and Paul Andrew Williams
Distributed by Quiver Distribution
Rated R for violence and language throughout and for brief drug use
Runtime– 96 minutes
Cleaner will be in movie theaters starting February 21st, 2025.
Cleaner, directed by Martin Campbell and hitting movie theaters starting February 21st, 2025, is a fantastic new British action flick. Featuring top notch performances from stars Daisy Ridley and Taz Skylar as well as an absolutely insane plot, Cleaner is a thrilling piece of modern entertainment and easily one of the best movies so far of 2025.
Ridley plays Joey Locke, a badass ex-British soldier turned professional window cleaner that finds herself fighting a team of wacked out terrorists that have seized the high-rise building she works in. Initially led by the notorious eco troublemaker Marcus Blake (Clive Owen), the terrorists attack a party hosted by corporate scumbag brothers Gerald and Geoffrey Milton (Lee Boardman and Rufus Jones), a party that also has various other rich people and British government representatives in attendance. After knocking everyone out with some sort of, well, knockout gas, Blake’s team revives several partygoers, including the Milton brothers, and makes everyone aware of what this whole hostage taking thing is all about. Blake intends to get every person his team revived to admit, on camera, how corrupt they are and what they’ve done to harm the planet.
Now, initially, Joey doesn’t know anything about the terrorist takeover of the building. At first, the only thing she’s concerned about is getting stuck on the cradle, the moving platform that window cleaners use. She has no idea that her boss Derek (Gavin Fleming), who also runs the building’s security cameras and computer systems and whatnot, has been shot dead by Blake’s team and can’t bring the cradle back up to the top of the building. Joey just thinks that Derek is messing around with her, something he is apparently keen to do (Derek was annoyed with Joey earlier for almost missing her shift). When Joey sees her fellow window cleaner Noah (Taz Skylar) attacking a frightened Milton brother, she realizes that something is up, that she’s in trouble, and that her brother Michael (Matthew Tuck) is in serious danger. Joey brought Michael to work with her, as Michael was kicked out of a care home at the beginning of the movie and Joey had nowhere else to take him (going to get Michael was why she was late for work and almost lost her job). What the heck is she going to do?
As the hostage situation unexpectedly escalates (Blake is removed from his leadership position), the terrorists try to take out Joey. Joey fights back, creates a disturbance that alerts people on the ground that something is going on, and then the police get involved. The police response is led by Superintendent Claire Hume (Ruth Gemmell). After the police figure out that Joey isn’t a wacko, that she has a military background and can handle herself in a dangerous situation, and that something really bad is happening inside the building, Joey might be of some use to the authorities. Superintendent Hume first has to deal with her own people, as the SWAT team leader on site sends in a team to breach the front door without Hume’s authorization (the SWAT team is absolutely obliterated as a result). When she finally gets her own people under control, Superintendent Hume essentially deputizes Joey.
Now, while all of that is going on, we find out that the eco-terrorists are way more extreme than initially assumed. In fact, they’re not really eco-terrorists in the strictest sense. The terrorists are actually something else, something far more sinister. Will Joey be able to stop the terrorists, save the hostages, and, most importantly to her, save her brother Michael?
I can’t stress enough how terrific Cleaner is as an action movie watching experience. It’s slick, generally well-made, and has a top notch action director at the helm in Martin Campbell. Cleaner isn’t a mega budget Hollywood action flick, but director Campbell and company make it look and feel like a bigger movie than it actually is. The movie also has a breezy pace and is fun as hell. Is the story/plot absurd? A bit, yes, but I’m totally down for villains in movies with completely unhinged schemes that are complete bullshit in real life as long as they are done well and everyone involved sells it. Cleaner sells itself very, very well.
There are several sequences where Ridley’s Joey is hanging on the side of the high-rise doing her job, washing windows while attached to a harness. If you’re afraid of heights, these sequences will be nerve wracking. They definitely were for me. Even with me knowing that she likely wasn’t actually hanging off the side of an actual building at any moment in the movie, it still looked enough like she was actually doing it. Joey is just casually moving up and down via the harness rope, wiping down windows and squeegeeing them carefully so she doesn’t leave streaks. She’s talking to her fellow window cleaner Noah like it’s no big deal that she’s way, way, way up in the air. And then there are the sequences where Ridley’s Joey is using the cradle platform thing, which seems even more dangerous than the harness. It always freaks me out in movies when we see those cradles sway in the wind or start to tip.
The movie’s fight sequences are well staged and exciting. Ridley’s Joey is a ball of frantic energy when she takes on various terrorists with hand-to-hand brawling techniques, as well as whatever weaponry she can get her hands on. I can hear people complaining how it’s “unrealistic” for a woman Joey’s size to be able to take on the various terrorists in the building. She’s way too small to be doing any sort of real damage to men twice her size. But the movie doesn’t have Joey go up against these terrorists like she’s Steven Seagal. Instead, Joey surprises just about every terrorist she attacks and overwhelms them before they even know what hit them. It also helps that Joey has absolutely no give up in her. You’re going to have to kill her to stop her. Joey Locke is the very definition of the idea that, in a fight, you should never underestimate your opponent.
The relationship between Joey and her brother Michael that anchors the emotional core of the plot is another top notch part of the movie. Joey clearly loves her brother and will do anything for him, and you realize that before the terrorists arrive. Is Joey annoyed that she had to take Michael away from the care home and then she had to figure out what the heck she can do with him while also holding onto her job? Most definitely. But she isn’t going to throw him away or abandon him. She can’t. Joey isn’t that kind of person. On top of that, Joey also knows that she is the only person in the world that Michael trusts. She is the only one that’s going to be able to look out for him.
Daisy Ridley is phenomenal as Joey Locke. When we first meet her as a grown up, she’s a bit down on her luck and frazzled. You can tell that she isn’t where she wants to be in life at that moment, but at the same time she’s doing the best she can to get through every day. And that’s before we find out about Michael’s issues and how she has to watch out for him. At the same time, she’s smart and spunky and she will stand up for herself when she has to (I cheered when she gives the care home woman that tells her Michael has to leave the care home the middle finger). She’s the same way at her job as a window cleaner. When the terrorists arrive and the shit hits the fan, we then get to see Joey in action as an ex-British military badass and it’s glorious. Joey will stop at nothing to take down the bad guys and save her brother. I absolutely love Joey Locke.
Taz Skylar does a great job as Noah, Joey’s friend and fellow window cleaner. At first, you think Noah is just a good guy that Joey works with. They have an easy chemistry and you can tell that, on some level, they both like each other. When Noah reveals his true self, it’s shocking. Joey is dumbfounded that Noah would want to hurt people as a terrorist. And then Noah reveals his real deal true self and all bets are off. The man is goddamn unhinged. Skylar is terrifying as Noah.
Clive Owen does an amazing job as the initial terrorist leader Marcus Blake. Blake is charismatic and thoroughly disdainful of the corporate scumbags that destroy the environment for profit, which is what his group’s takeover of the building is all about. You completely buy that he could assemble a team of true believers to do something that will no doubt lead to long prison sentences if and when they are caught. You may not agree with his methods, but you don’t really dislike him (that’s why he’s so potentially dangerous). When Blake is usurped and removed as the leader of the terrorist group, you get upset because you want to see him go head to head with Joey (because you know that would have happened if Blake had remained as the head of the group). Owen is clearly having fun as Blake, and it’s a damn shame that the movie doesn’t have more of him in it. There’s a little sequence in the movie where the police explain who Blake is and his history as an extreme environmental activist and we see him at various protests. I would love to see a sort of “side-prequel” where Blake and his group engage in those and other protests. I bet that movie would be hilarious (again, Owen seems to be having all the fun in the world playing Blake. Why not see Blake in his ultimate element, clowning on Earth killing companies and whatnot?).
Matthew Tuck does a nice job as Michael, Joey’s troubled brother. At first, you think the movie is going to have Michael as Joey’s sort of annoying sidekick. You don’t want to judge him because you don’t know what his issues are, but at the same time you just wish he would chill out so Joey could figure out how she is going to proceed with taking care of him. Once you find out what Michael’s issues are and you see how much Joey cares for him, you lose whatever judgmental vibes you may have developed and you just want to see the both of them succeed. It also helps that Tuck is a fine actor and knows how to make a potentially annoying character funny and endearing. I loved how Michael carries around a Thor hammer throughout the movie, uses plots from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to explain things, and is totally okay with being a “good guy” hacker (his hacking is a big reason why he has so many issues).
Ruth Gemmell does a fascinating job as Superintendent Claire Hume. She’s clearly an old pro at being a police leader, but she’s also constantly fighting her direct underlings because they have their own agendas (like the SWAT team leader). You feel bad that she has to deal with both the terrorist criminals that she has to take out as well as the people who are supposed to be on her team. You get the sense that while she loves her job she also can’t wait to retire so she doesn’t have to deal with the bullshit anymore. Gemmell has awesome “talking to another person on the phone” chemistry with Ridley, and I love their big scene at the very end of the movie (the smile they share is everything).
And then there’s Lee Boardman and Rufus Jones as the Milton brothers, the corporate scumbags that are the target of Blake’s terrorist group. You both loathe and love the Milton brothers. You won’t be a fan of the way they do business (they don’t care how much damage they do to the environment as long as they continue to make millions in the process), but Gerald and Geoffrey are a hoot to watch. They’re awful and hilarious at the same time, especially Gerald. The “corporate message” video their company puts together is a true thing of scumbag beauty.
I loved Cleaner. It has absolutely everything you want to see in a modern action flick. A great cast, a fun story, a quick pace, and great action. The sibling relationship between Joey and Michael is also endearing and poignant. If Daisy Ridley doesn’t get a chance to do more Star Wars flicks, I hope that she gets a chance to do more straight up action flicks like Cleaner. She clearly has a knack for them, and I’d love to see what else she can do in the action genre going forward.
Again, I loved Cleaner. It’s a movie that you should absolutely make an effort to see. If it’s playing at a movie theater near you, be sure to check it out. It’s very much worth your time.
See Cleaner. See it, see it, see it. Cleaner is in theaters starting February 21st, 2025.
So what do we have here?
Dead bodies: At least 15
Explosions: Several.
Nudity?: None.
Doobage: An apartment that has a motorcycle in it for some reason. Walking on weird things exercise so the walker isn’t afraid of heights. Off screen parental argument. Off screen money stealing (alleged). A busted down motorcycle. Public transportation hooey. A public meltdown. Window cleaning. Elevator hooey. More window cleaning. Wet sponge throwing. Multiple elaborate masks. Unexpected indiscriminate killing. Serious finger breaking. Knock out gas hooey. Body dragging. A vicious head butt. Serious hostage taking. Champagne bottle jammed into someone’s mouth. Suicide vest hooey. Multiple unexpected shootings. Dead body throwing. Attempted escape. Bullet to the leg. Police chopper hooey. Window cleaner cradle rocking. Police sharpshooter hooey. Phone stealing. A wrist remote. Total SWAT team destruction. Exploding van. Exploding cradle. Deliberate window shooting. Window breaking. Wrench to the face. Serious face burning. Shooting a steam pipe in order to send out steam and burn someone. Grenade explosion with shockwave that sends a woman out of a window and down to the ground. More unexpected indiscriminate killing. A second SWAT team. Attempted suffocation via plastic bag. Choking. Off screen axe to the face. A brutal hand-to-hand brawl. Attempted strangulation. A big switch. A serious window fall.
Kim Richards? None, although there could have been if the opening scene went differently.
Gratuitous: Daisy Ridley not wanting to get up in the morning. Daisy Ridley drinking old coffee. Daisy Ridley brushing her teeth. Daisy Ridley forgetting to put down the toast. Daisy Ridley riding a motorcycle. “Accountability.” Daisy Ridley giving someone the middle finger. Multiple verbal takedowns of Piers Morgan because he’s a piece of shit. A pregnant woman. Attempted class solidarity. Daisy Ridley speaking Spanish. Daisy Ridley cleaning a skyscraper’s windows. A drunk guy saying “Absolutely” a lot. A hilarious corporate propaganda commercial. A guy doing cocaine. Daisy Ridley cleaning up a gruesome bird strike. A guy gets hit in the head with a falling wet sponge. General indifference to human life. “We are Earth’s Revolution.” Clive Owen playing an environmental troublemaker and terrorist. Attempted environmental justice. Forced alcohol choking. Daisy Ridley shooting at the ground indiscriminately while trying to get people’s attention. News coverage. Multiple forced video confessions. Daisy Ridley using the story of Thanos and the Infinity stones to motivate someone to keep moving. Daisy Ridley being a total badass. A poignant ending.
Best lines: “I can’t believe I’m hearing this. Are you serious? Is she serious? This is a joke. An absolute joke!” “You’ll be hearing from my lawyer. Like you have a lawyer. She doesn’t know that!” “Piers Morgan is an attention speaking the worst word!” “No more swearing. I said I’m sorry. Mother FU!” “Does he know I’m autistic?” “The theme is divine renewal. I really don’t give a shit.” “Jesus Christ, breathe in.” “Where the hell is Gerald?” “You did not have to fucking kill them. Stick to the plan.” “Think! Think! What would Piers Morgan do?” “Noah. Make him decent.” “You’ll have to forgive him. He gets a little excited.” “Tonight, you are accountable.” “No one is listening to you, Marcus.” “It’s too late for a revolution, Marcus. This is a reckoning.” “Please tell me this shit show comes with a fucking plan!” “See? I told you! Like fucking ants!” “Your first mistake is thinking anyone in here is innocent.” “Still there? They had families, Noah. Well, now they don’t.” “And that’s a fucking wrap!” “Man has no pre-ordained right to exist.” “They’ll see. They’ll all see.” “Such a badass. So are you.” “Bastard! You said you would let us go! I said we were all going out the same way.” “You did a good job up there. Beats cleaning windows.”
