Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
When a group of radical activists take over an energy company's annual gala, seizing 300 hostages, an ex-soldier turned window cleaner suspended 50 storeys up on the outside of the building must save those trapped inside, including her older brother.
Cleaner is a Die Hard-on-a-skyscraper premise with an ex-soldier window cleaner as its unlikely hero, a setup that leans heavily on a well-worn action-thriller template. The plot offers little surprise beyond competent execution of genre beats, and the ending follows predictable survival arcs without meaningful subversion. Acting is serviceable and carries the film adequately, while the cinematography makes reasonable use of its vertiginous setting for tension without achieving anything visually distinctive. The sibling dynamic and autistic brother subplot add some emotional texture but are underwritten. Novelty is low given how closely it mirrors established hostage-rescue formulas.