Arts & Life

: Tim Riley; Posted On Sunday, 21 January 2018 02:17; 21 January 2018

Mindless action drives ‘The Commuter’ to a fun blast

THE COMMUTER (Rated PG-13)

For a guy who should be collecting an old age pension, Liam Neeson proves remarkably fit for, as well credible in, the action roles he has perfected so well since the beginning of the “Taken” franchise launched his lucrative B-movie thriller career.

“The Commuter” reunites the Irish actor with director Jaume Collet-Serra for a fourth time. That Neeson starred in the Spanish film director’s “Unknown,” “Non-Stop” and “Run All Night” should be all that anyone needs to know about what to expect in this latest thriller.

Neeson’s Michael MacCauley, a mid-level manager at a faceless insurance company, lives with his wife (Elizabeth McGovern) and college-bound son, in a tidy suburb outside of New York City. As the film’s titular character, Michael rides the daily train into Manhattan for his job.

The film opens with a series of routine sequences of his daily suburban life, such as waking up to the alarm clock, having a quick breakfast, discussing family matters and then catching the commuter train into the city, where he encounters fellow passengers on the same grind.

Then one day, he’s unceremoniously cut loose from his employment with only five years to go for his company pension. He frets about what to tell his wife given the two mortgages to pay and the pending pricey college tuition bills for Syracuse University

Before facing a family challenge, he heads to a local tavern where he meets up with old colleagues from the NYPD, former partner Alex Murphy (Patrick Wilson) and Captain Hawthorne (Sam Neill), the latter appearing somewhat aloof for Michael having retired for reasons unknown.

On the otherwise hum-drum ride home, Michael meets the mysterious and sexy Joanna (Vera Farmiga) when she parks herself on the opposite seat and starts a conversation about her study of human behavior before positing a pop quiz that proves intriguing.

The stranger on the train starts talking vaguely about someone on the ride to Cold Springs who doesn’t belong, and then asks if Michael would be willing to locate this person for a payoff of $100,000 without knowing the consequences of his action in fulfilling this mission.

Well, you can probably guess where this Faustian bargain is headed. For a down payment of $25,000 hidden in the bathroom, Michael has been ensnared in a trap, and if he has any regret or wish to back out, a series of events come into play to dissuade or prevent his escape.

Without giving away too many of the surprises in store, Joanna has many tricks up her sleeve, including messengers that quickly disembark from the train after delivering clues and cryptic messages to Michael, one of which is the ominous delivery of his wife’s wedding ring.

Of course, tension is heightened when Michael has no clue as to the person’s identity other than the name of “Prin,” which could be at some point a pseudonym loosely related to the young woman subject to public shame in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter.”

Believing that his wife and son are in grave danger of being abducted, Michael swings into action, even though his old police instincts and training may be a bit rusty. Soon he is scoping out every passenger on the train, causing some to fret about his suspicious behavior.

It’s not like Michael can flash a badge to elicit information, which would have been helpful to avoid the unfortunate demise of the one passenger who may have played an accommodating role in the apprehension of the mysterious rider.

As it is, Michael is faced with several people that fit the profile of an interloper lurking in the midst of the regulars. What about the fidgety girl in the nurse’s uniform carrying a package? There’s also the young punk girl with a backpack full of fake driver’s licenses.

A more obvious choice might be the guy with the neck tattoos and tough guy demeanor. But he’s probably just one of the MacGuffins. A better option could be the obnoxious, arrogant Wall Street-type broker who treats others with condescension and bad manners.

Soon enough, Michael realizes that he’s been set up and he’s just a patsy that is supposed to find the witness to a conspiracy involving an alleged suicide of a city planner, an act seemingly orchestrated by a covert group of powerful people.

The conspiracy plot is relatively inconsequential, if not far-fetched, to the grand scheme of the propulsive drive of the suspenseful train ride that keeps the audience guessing how Michael will get out of this jam, even though we know he will because we’ve seen the other movies.

The bottom line is that “The Commuter” is a mindless blast of fun, and the plot is irrelevant to our enjoyment of Liam Neeson’s action career that one hopes he can maintain a few more years before a geriatric timeline derails his well-earned status of B-movie hero.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.