‘Cleaner’ Feels Like ‘Die Hard’ With Daisy Ridley In Action Mode

Starring Daisy Ridley and Clive Owen, Martin Campbell’s Cleaner feels like it’s straight out of the late ’80s.

Like John McTiernan’s Die Hard, it’s a gimmick action movie based around a high-stakes concept; in this case, the protagonist needs to break into a building rather than out of it. Much like its predecessors, Cleaner also works better when the viewer leaves their brain at the door and enjoys the ride for what it is, because the story hangs by more of a thread than Ridley’s Joey from the skyscraper. Mild spoilers for Cleaner follow.

What is ‘Cleaner’ about?

Fun fact: Did you know that most window cleaners for skyscrapers in London are ex-military? It’s true, since it requires specialist training to work at those types of heights. So, it makes sense that the lead character, Joey (Ridley), is both a window cleaner and ex-military here. Her day starts off in total chaos – heck, maybe she should have stayed in bed in retrospect. She’s late for work, then the care home that looks after her brother, Michael (Matthew Tuck), kicks him out. So, Joey picks up Michael, brings him along to work with her, and leaves him with security until she wraps up her shift. As nighttime falls and Joey prepares to call it a day, a radical group (led by Clive Owen’s Marcus) takes over the building as Agnian Energy’s big-time gala takes place. Stuck outside of the building, Joey needs to get back inside to find Michael and stop the baddies.

Martin Campbell keeps it lean, mean, and … uh … clean?!

Having directed GoldenEye and Casino Royale, director Martin Campbell knows what it takes to deliver both action and thrills at the highest level. Unsurprisingly, he applies the perfect pacing to Cleaner, as he divides the 90-minute film into three equal parts: The story setup, Joey hanging on for dear life, and the climatic beatdown. Campbell keeps the film trim and moving along swiftly rather than meandering or setting up other subplots. It’s a reminder of a simpler time when films didn’t need to be four-hours long and got to the point quicker. Other directors could learn a thing or two from this.

In terms of the action scenes, Cleaner takes pages both out of Skyscraper and Die Hard‘s playbooks. At times, it’s a nailbiter as Joey dangles on the damaged cradle on the side of the building, exposed to the people looking at her through the window and the circling police helicopters alerted to the hostage situation. Without going into spoilers, the police think Joey could be one of the culprits, so there’s the genuine possibility they could shoot at her too. Then, when Joey gets inside the building, it’s showtime. Joey gets to demonstrate all of her military training – both in hand-to-hand and weapon combat – putting the smackdown on these fools who forced her to do what’s effectively unpaid overtime.

Daisy Ridley and Taz Skylar become 2025’s John McClane and Hans Gruber

Although Clive Owen’s name appears on the poster, he plays second (or third) fiddle to Daisy Ridley and Taz Skylar, who portrays the main villain Noah. Ridley’s Joey isn’t an omega-level superhero or an invincible action heroine in this movie. She feels every drop of fear and even comes close to giving up, but it’s her love for her brother that turns into her motivation for carrying on and finding strength. Yes, she has training that gives her an advantage in this situation, but there’s an every person quality to her that showcases how she is in over her head.

In terms of Skylar’s Noah, he’s an interesting antagonist who some viewers might find themselves agreeing with. While the group who enters the gala could be deemed eco-terrorists, who want to expose all the corruption and environmental injustices perpetrated by Agnian Energy and its associates, Noah wants more than that. He wants bloodshed, believing it’s the only true way to instigate change. He also has a personal connection to Joey, but any sentiment is thrown aside when he admits to her that she’s unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Seeing this to-and-fro dynamic between Joey and Noah is reminiscent of John McClane and Hans Gruber from Die Hard where they’re in constant communication and trying to stop each other throughout the movie before the inevitable final showdown. By the time they do clash, though, the audience is more than primed for the big fight.

‘Cleaner’ values style over substance 

Credit to Simon Uttley for attempting to add layers to Cleaner‘s story. That said, if a viewer pokes at this movie hard enough, the whole thing will collapse. A few of the characters are out of the ’80s B-movie archetype manual and important plot points fall into place a little too conveniently. Plus, there’s some commentary about climate change that never feels addressed in the end.

This doesn’t take away from the overall enjoyment of Cleaner, though. It’s an action film that’s all about the concept and spectacle. Sometimes, this is the kind of movie that’s a necessary palate cleanser after a day’s work, so close an eye to the shortcomings and embrace the exhilaration of seeing Daisy Ridley hanging from the side of a building.

Cleaner releases February 21, 2025 in movie theaters across the United States.