CLEANER Review: Martin Campbell’s High-Stakes Hostage Action Thriller Misses A Spot
Cleaner stars Daisy Ridley, Taz Skylar and Clive Owen, and opens in U.S. theaters on February 21 from Quiver Distribution.
Cleaner stars Daisy Ridley, Taz Skylar and Clive Owen, and opens in U.S. theaters on February 21 from Quiver Distribution.
12:05 EST: Updated with official poster art Earlier: Martin Campbell is back in the headlines these days with the director touting his newest action thriller, Cleaner. The film stars none other than Daisy Ridley, chucking one-liners at Clive Owen in Die Hard fashion, as seen in the official first trailer which launched on Thursday also featuring actor and martial artist Taz Skylar in a co-antagonistic role. Cleaner is set in present-day London. A group of radical activists, led by Clive Owen, take over an energy company’s annual gala, seizing 300 hostages in order to expose the corruption of the hosts. Their just cause is hijacked by an extremist within their ranks, who is ready to murder everyone in the building to send his anarchic message to the world. It falls to an ex-soldier turned window cleaner, played by Daisy Ridley, suspended 50 storeys up on the outside of the building, […]
Quiver Distribution announced today that it has acquired North American rights to the Anton and Qwerty Films production Cleaner, directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, GoldenEye) and set in, around and on the side of one of the UK’s tallest buildings. Quiver will release the film in theaters on February 21, 2025. The film stars Daisy Ridley (the Star Wars franchise) who recently completed Magpie, based on a story she developed, with acclaimed roles in Young Woman and The Sea and Sometimes I Think About Dying, and Clive Owen (Children of Men, Closer), who recently starred in the FX mini-series A Murder at the End of the World. Cleaner is set in present-day London. A group of radical activists, led by Clive Owen, take over an energy company’s annual gala, seizing 300 hostages in order to expose the corruption of the hosts. Their just cause is hijacked by an extremist within their ranks, who is ready to murder everyone in the building to […]
Daisy Ridley (the Star Wars franchise, Young Woman and the Sea, Magpie) will star in Dedication, a new action thriller from director Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, GoldenEye). Highland Film Group is co-financing the pic and handling international sales at the AFM in Las Vegas this week, as production readies for a Spring 2025 shoot in the Philippines and Europe. Campbell will direct from a screenplay by Dan Gordon (Wyatt Earp, The Hurricane) which centers on Major Billie Jean Parker (Ridley), a decorated Marine Corps commander relieved of duty after a high-stakes mission in the Philippines results in civilian casualties, despite capturing anarchist leader Omar Romatas. Facing the loss of her career, she visits her dying father, Clyde, a former Marine, who asks her to attend a dedication ceremony for a school building named in his honor. The event takes a deadly turn when Omar Romatas’s vengeful son, Bento, launches an assault, taking hostages. Forced back into combat, Billie Jean sets traps and executes precise strikes […]
Lionsgate is planning a big press day well into the summer for director Martin Campbell’s new action thriller, The Protégé, ahead of its August 20 release. The official trailer has since gained a good deal of traction and with that, the studio also released new versions of its recent payoff poster featuring actress Maggie Q front and center. Rescued as a child by the legendary assassin Moody (Samuel L. Jackson) and trained in the family business, Anna (Maggie Q) is the world’s most skilled contract killer. But when Moody – the man who was like a father to her and taught her everything she needs to know about trust and survival – is brutally killed, Anna vows revenge. As she becomes entangled with an enigmatic killer (Michael Keaton) whose attraction to her goes way beyond cat and mouse, their confrontation turns deadly and the loose ends of a life spent […]
Martin Campbell’s latest thriller, The Foreigner, is coming home to Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital between December and January. Fellow contributor James gave the film a balanced approach in his owm analysis calling it “an immaculately shot, deliberately paced political thriller with sudden bursts of hardcore action from Chan…”, while some probably didn’t like how less Chan-centric it was in their view. Nevertheless, those who’ve missed out during its theatrical run can still pre-order themselves a copy in the wake of UPHE’s latest announcement below with artwork included. Global superstar Jackie Chan (Rush Hour trilogy) returns to the big screen like you’ve never seen him before in the action-packed film, The Foreigner, arriving on Digital on December 26, 2017 and on Blu-ray™, DVD and On Demand on January 9, 2018 from STXfilms and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), the film also stars Pierce Brosnan (Tomorrow Never […]
When I first heard about The Foreigner back in the halcyon days of 2015, I was puzzled as to why anyone would agree to make it; it was a Jackie Chan movie, directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale), also starring Pierce Brosnan (Goldeneye)! This sounded like the worst idea for a movie since a Pacific Rim sequel not directed by Guillermo del Toro. Now, in defense of 2015 me, things weren’t exactly bright and sunny for the three names above. Chan, still trying to hold onto his glory days, was making big budget duds like Chinese Zodiac and Skiptrace. Campbell was nearly 10 years removed from Casino Royale and was also recovering from the recent Green Lantern debacle. As for Brosnan, he was still reeling from the shockingly dull The November Man and the forgotten film Survivor. There was absolutely NO REASON for this movie to be any good, which […]
Hitting high notes among fans, STX Entertainment’s campaign for the new revenge thriller, The Foreigner, has a fresh, new official trailer aheas of its October 13 release. The film is already on a warpath with television spots, and even clips like this one which I refuse to see. I mean… that’s just me as I’m already sold on the first trailer back in June. THE FOREIGNER, starring Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan, is a timely action thriller from the director of “Casino Royale.” The film tells the story of humble London businessman Quan (Chan), whose long-buried past erupts in a revenge-fueled vendetta when the only person left for him to love — his teenage daughter — is taken from him in a senseless act of politically-motivated terrorism. In his relentless search for the identity of the terrorists, Quan is forced into a cat- and-mouse conflict with a British government official […]
Just days from TIFF, word now has Casino Royale helmer Martin Campbell on deck to direct adventure pic, Treasure of Ali Baba & The 40 Thieves. Ehud Bleiberg and Danny Dimbort will handle international sales on the project as well as produce with Nicholas Donnermeyer and Campbell cohort Robert K. MacLean. Writer Dave Holstein wrote the script following an earlier screenplay by Bleiberg and co-scribe Mansur Ahmed with source material rooted in the sprawling collection of Arabian Nights tales of Middle Eastern folklore. Marc Bikindou and Tiffany Boyle are executive producing the film which currently stands as the second grouping for Campbell & MacLean along with Dimbort and Bleiberg following Ernest Hemingway novel adaptation, Across The River and Into The Trees. via Deadline: An adventure novelist gets caught up in a global conspiracy and a hunt for a mysterious antiquity after discovering that his father had a map to the […]
Taking a rare pivot from the usual family-friendly tone of a Jackie Chan film, the mood can be both seen and felt in the official teaser trailer for upcoming action thriller, The Foreigner. Casino Royale helmer Martin Campbell is certainly tapping into the dark and gritty millieu here, and it’s an appropriate fit for a brooding revenge film that has the honorary Oscar-winning action star leading the cast. The Foreigner takes its cues from Stephen Leather’s 1992 novel and with none other than Chan starring as a London restaurant owner who reverts to his former skillset accrued in his dark past when the justice system fails him in an IRA terrorist attack that kills his daughter. Chan stars opposite Pierce Brosnan in their first appearance together on screen with Liu Tao and Katie Leung also starring. The Foreigner will release throughout Asia in September with a U.S. release in tow […]
Honorary Oscar winner Jackie Chan is in Shanghai stirring a ruckus for attendees and fellow stars at the 20th Shanghai International Film Festival. More news on this will rollout eventually and there will be plenty to sift over amid the buzz for Chan and his upcoming titles, and the same goes for the Fall release of the new thriller, The Foreigner, which is getting an October 13 release from STX. The film takes its cues from Stephen Leather’s novel, The Chinaman and is adapted for the screen by David Marconi with Casino Royale helmer Martin Campbell directing. Chan is joined by Pierce Brosnan, Liu Tao and Katie Leung for the story of a South London restaurant owner who reverts to the lethal skillset built in his dark past, paving his own way for vengeance after an IRA terrorist attack that kills his family and the justice system fails him. The […]
The past few months have been upheld on all things Jackie Chan with his most recent adventure, Kung Fu Yoga. Now over the hill we venture into darker and more gritty territory as we witness Chan join actor Pierce Brosnan for Martin Campbell’s latest, The Foreigner which saw a lo-fi image go viral last week following its appearance in Berlin last month. That image mostly now comes brandished on the first official poster which still doesn’t present much to be impressed over, but polished nonetheless and as the first official piece of art for the film now aiming for a Fall release. The film, inspired by the 1992 Stephen Leather book from screenwriter David Marconi, spots Chan in the role of a distraught London Chinatown restaurant owner forced to take matters in his own hands when the law fails to bring justice down on the IRA terrorists responsible for his […]
Head over to South London or other parts and you’ll likely find action star Jackie Chan filming scenes for his latest epic actioner – tentatively without an official title though previously branded as The Foreigner. The film is latest production from STX Entertainment and SR Media with Chan joined by Pierce Brosnan and a cast soon to be announced while the rest of us await further info on Chan’s previously-annoucned Renny Harlin globetrotter, Skiptrace, and Stanley Tong’s Kung Fu Yoga among others. Chan leads the film, based on an adaptation of the 1992 Hodder and Stoughton publication by author Stephen Leather with a script by David Marconi and Peter Buchman, as a former member of the Viet Cong-turned-South London restaurant owner who sets out to avenge the death of his family at the hands of the IRA when the justice system fails. Brosnan is on deck to star as Liam Hennessy, […]
It’s a busy Fall season for action star Jackie Chan in the wake of promoting his newest globetrotting comedy, Skiptrace, with his Abu Dhabi-set Kung Fu Yoga and Ding Sheng’s Railroad Tigers still on deck. However, chances are he’ll be well onto director Martin Campbell‘s forthcoming production soon enough with Campbell to begin Relativity’s Hunter Killer next Spring. The film in question still doesn’t have a title but does have a premise and a slowly-accumulating cast which now includes actor Pierce Brosnan as of this week’s report from The Wrap. The report describes the role as that of a former IRA-turned-government official who factors into the life of a Viet Cong-turned-South London restaurant owner who sets out to avenge the death of his family at the hands of the IRA. Formerly titled The Foreigner, Chan is to lead the film, based on an adaptation of the 1992 Hodder and Stoughton […]
The past year has proven pretty tumultuous for the folks over at Relativity Media and its Chairman and CEO, Ryan Kavanaugh. Financial upheavel stifled several of their forthcoming productions, including Hunter Killer, an adaptation of the 2012 novel, “Firing Point”, co-written by Don Keith and retired U.S. Navy Commander George Wallace as a follow up to their 2003 best seller, “Final Bearing”. Producers, Original Films’s Neal Moritz and Toby Jaffe and Relativity’s Kavanaugh were all set to go until Relativity ended up filing for a Chapter 11 back in August when news of missed loan payments surfaced. As of late, the company is slowly recovering, but there were no minced words from Moritz who, as recently as last week, lashed out against Relativity calling them a “fraud” and a “sham” whilst filing an objection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court to ascertain the fate of Hunter Killer. On Thursday, that all seemed to […]
It was late last year that Casino Royale helmer Martin Campbell was a frontrunner to direct Relativity Media’s forthcoming book adaptation, Hunter Killer. That was long before this week’s news of the studio’s current financial troubles started making headlines, which now appears to be a reverting point for Campbell who is now in the running to direct one of several of action star Jackie Chan’s upcoming films, STX Entertainment’s The Foreigner with Wayne Godfrey producing. The film, which Deadline states will be retitled between now and throughout the course of production, was announced back in June off the heels of another busy season of Chan-related announcements with the film set to go into production this October. Chan will lead the film, based on an adaptation of the 1992 Hodder and Stoughton publication by author Stephen Leather with a script by David Marconi and Peter Buchman, as a former member of […]
Following Green Lantern and Casino Royale helmer Martin Campbell‘s attachment to the upcoming production of espionage submarine thriller, Hunter Killer as of late last year, Variety broke word that actor Gerard Butler will be joined by actors Common and Billy Bob Thorton. The film is based on the 2012 novel, “Firing Point”, co-written by Don Keith and retired U.S. Navy Commander George Wallace as a follow up to their 2003 best seller, “Final Bearing”, the latter book which centered on an espionage driven tale of the U.S.’s mission to put an end to a South American drug kingpin and his expansive cartel. Common and Thorton will star in the respective roles of Rear Admiral John Fisk and Admiral Charles Donnegan, with Butler starring as Joe Glass, the untested captain of the USS Toledo who must foil a nefarious plot to start World War III by a rogue general holding the […]
Martin Campbell may be much busier going into 2015 if earlier reports serve as a good enough indicator. Variety reports the director’s name is back in the spotlight for another new action vehicle with Sebastian X from Voltage Pictures and Gale Anne Hurd’s Vallhala Motion Pictures. Deja Vu scribe Bill Marsilii is adapting the property based on the original Humanoids graphic novel publication of the same name by author Michelangelo La Neve and illustrator Stuart Immonen. Published in 2005, the story of Sebastian X kicks off with an elite cop who, upon surviving a near-fatal injury, is implanted with the memories of a world-class terrorist in order to infiltrate his group and foil their next attack. As you might expect, there may be more to this story as they adapt the character for the big screen, so its pretty plausible to not take it at face value just yet. If […]
Depending on how you may feel about the recent live-action renditions of Hasbro property, G.I. Joe, it’s probably about time we finally got another step closer to some news on the third film in the franchise. Over the course of the past few years, directing prospects went to Jon M. Chu who sat behind the camera for the 2013 sequel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation following helmer Stephen Sommers’s 2009 flick, G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra. Of course, that was before he moved back to doing movie musicals like the upcoming Jem And The Holograms and the recently announced Can’t Touch This, and so on that word, the latest filmmaker now being sought after is Green Lantern, Goldeneye and Casino Royale helmer Martin Campbell. Talks are reportedly early according to Schmoe’s Know via Screenrant, but if confirmed, Campbell will hopefully be the one to help tone down the storyline to a […]
Live action cinematic adaptations of major action adventure novels are still a point of inspiration for film producers, and there are plenty that are in the works for TV and film, ranging from The Hunger Games and Divergent to properties like Jason Bourne, Mack Bolan and Rain as of late. Well, as of this week, Neal Moritz, Toby Jaffe and Ryan Kavanaugh are adding another to the mix in the form of Hunter Killer, with Green Lantern and Casino Royale helmer Martin Campbell back in the director’s chair. The film is based on the 2012 novel, “Firing Point”, co-written by Don Keith and retired U.S. Navy Commander George Wallace as a follow up to their 2003 best seller, “Final Bearing”, the latter book that centered on an espionage driven tale of the U.S.’s mission to put an end to a South American drug kingpin and his expansive cartel. Campbell’s film […]