The Commuter

Neeson's fourth pairing with director Jaume Collet-Serra, this thriller is far from great, but the duo's usual blend of non-stop action and silly suspense still works like crazy. (Their previous collaborations are Unknown, Non-Stop, and Run All Night.) Though the plot of The Commuter doesn't really hold water, the movie moves fast enough and doles out information so cleverly and sporadically that it's possible to simply turn off your brain and go along for the speedy ride. It helps that Neeson is such a fascinating presence. Rather than a trained bodybuilder, he's a 60-something everyman/family man who's strong and charismatic while striving to do the right thing.

Virtually every shot of The Commuter is on him, though Collet-Serra also provides plenty of razzle-dazzle, including the wonderful opening montage of all the mornings of a lifetime: waking up to the alarm, drinking coffee, leaving the house, possibly arguing/possibly kissing. On the train, the camera roams up and down the aisles smoothly, passing through one empty car whose air-conditioning is broken and fluidly twisting and turning to capture all the suspects' faces. Fight scenes and action scenes may not be masterful, but they're at least clear, potent, and exciting. Indeed, The Commuter is close in spirit to what used to be called a B movie, and it's solid entertainment.