"Cleaner," the new film by Martin Campbell, is touted as an "action movie in the spirit of 'Die Hard,' only with Daisy Ridley as the cool and fearless heroine. Sounds promising, right? But let's figure out whether "Cleaner" is worth your time or if i...

The main gimmick of "Cleaner" is its obvious nod to the timeless action film by
John McTiernan. We have a heroine who is forced to single-handedly confront a crowd of terrorists (in this case, radical eco-activists fighting... corruption!), and she does it with such ease as if she's been doing it her whole life. Plus, narrow corridors, "on the edge" situations, awkward but desperate attempts to contact the "mainland"… All in the best traditions: if you're going to copy greatness, it's best to do it in proper proportions.

If you've missed Daisy Ridley since "Star Wars", this is a chance to admire the actress's new image: here she has swapped her Jedi outfit for a window cleaner's uniform. She looks energetic and manages to breathe some life into her sometimes naive but combative heroine (the ordinary cleaner hides a former special forces soldier, to somehow justify the plot mix).

Ridley convincingly hangs on the window cleaning platform, throws sharp remarks (though she lacks John McClane's wit and aphoristic style), and dishes out punches to the villains (among whom Clive Owen unexpectedly appears), while periodically switching to "human" mode: getting scared somewhere, reassessing the situation somewhere, and doubting her abilities somewhere.

Special mention should be made of the antagonists (yes, there is more than one here – and we're not talking about the background dummies). Traditionally in such stories, villains suffer from the cliché "take over a building/plane – demand money – get taken down by the lone hero," but here the screenwriters decided to strengthen the plot with a couple of interesting twists. The villain (the key one, not the nominal one) has not only guns and henchmen but also a quite clear goal – anti-humanistic.

The development of the conflict is still largely predictable, but the motives are not reduced to a mindless "I want a billion," but are filled with thoughts that man, by his very nature, is a destructive phenomenon for everything around.

To sum it up without unnecessary sentiment, "Cleaner" is a fairly decent B-movie action flick that won't become a new "Die Hard." In this regard, it's even further away than another recent ideological follower. And attempts to modernize the film through extremely clumsy feminist motifs (like the absolute female solidarity between the head of law enforcement and Ridley's heroine) and a Gen Z presentation of the material (literally every minute something happens on screen, God forbid the viewer gets distracted), do not improve the situation.

Vitaly Gizatullin

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Netflix released the action film "Carry-On" for Christmas in the spirit of "Die Hard," where Taron Egerton saves his beloved girlfriend, passengers, and New Year.

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And yes, the film certainly feels modest in ambition and budget, and in some places it could use a polish – ironically, since "Cleaner" is about cleaning up. However, it is in its simplicity, old-school vibe, and honest "combat" atmosphere that the film will find its audience.

Trailer: