‘Cleaner’ review: Daisy Ridley and Clive Owen lead wobbly skyscraper thriller

Dir: Martin Campbell. UK. 2024. 97mins

Daisy Ridley hangs around, literally, for most of Cleaner, an underwhelming action-thriller in which she plays a skyscraper window cleaner stranded on a cradle high above the ground as terrorists over-run the building with her autistic brother inside. Many will make unflattering comparisons to Die Hard, despite veteran action director Martin Campbel’s attempts to give the familiar proceedings a smooth, slightly cheeky efficiency.  Cleaner opens in the US on February 21, catering to audiences uninterested in Captain America: Brave New World, although this film’s  plot-hole-laden script and cliched characters won’t help. 

Contrivances abound

Ridley has had difficulty capitalising on her role in the recent Star Wars trilogy on the big screen and Cleaner, in which she plays a former soldier kicked out of the military now working in London as a window-cleaner, is more likely to work on streaming than theatrical. Her character, Joey, desperately needs the job to help support her brother Michael (Matthew Tuck) who has just been evicted from yet another care home. Asking Michael to wait for her in the lobby of One Canada Square, Joey begins washing the tower’s windows — unaware that, inside, an eco-terrorist organisation named Earth Revolution, led by Marcus (Clive Owen), has just infiltrated a lavish gala for a rich energy company, taking everyone hostage. 

Campbell (Casino Royale, Goldeneye) leans into the story’s absurdities, inviting the audience not to take this popcorn fare too seriously. Contrivances abound. Joey just happens to be an expert shot and fighter, which makes her an ideal bystander to take on a team of well-armed thugs. Likewise, her brother may be autistic but he is also a computer whiz, a crucial skill when overriding the building’s security systems. Joey also has a melodramatic backstory which dovetails tidily with the challenge in front of her. 

But for all the ways in which the film recalls Die Hard, Cleaner lacks two of that action classic’s most important elements: a sense of fun and legitimate stakes. During much of the picture’s initial two-thirds, Joey dangles on the wobbly cradle, frantically trying to get help without the benefit of a cell phone. Eventually, she makes contact with Superintendent Hume (Ruth Gemmell), who spearheads the hostage negotiation from the ground. But Campbell rarely capitalises on Joey’s vertigo-inducing dilemma — the mediocre effects are never convincing, and Cleaner’s low budget can clearly be seen.

Ridley’s spiky sense of humour is a balm, especially early on when Joey interacts with her brother, but the script’s formulaic nature proves too much. The rudimentary dialogue prevents Ridley from crafting a compelling presence, and when Joey finally gets a chance to battle the terrorists hand to hand in a humdrum finale, the fight sequences fail to satisfy.

Owen brings distinguished menace to his role as an idealistic activist who wants to halt global warming. Soon, though, Marcus will face opposition from one of his lieutenants, Noah (Taz Skylar), who advocates that only by killing these high-profile company executives will they achieve their goals. Their eventual showdown leads to Cleaner’s biggest twist, although this too falls flat. Despite being lightweight entertainment, Campbell’s film does try to state the urgency of protecting our planet’s endangered ecosystem. Perhaps this explains why Cleaner seems so invested in recycling every aspect of itself.