In the beginning, the film has a very effective way of showing the passing of time through clever photography and editing. Unfortunately this was about as much as I enjoyed about the film. NOTHING about the plot is believable. In fact, I'd go so far as calling it preposterous. There's just so much wrong here, if I were to highlight these scenes, I'd end up talking about the entire film.

If Vera Farmiga's character, Joanna, and her organisation is so technologically advanced that they can see and hear Michael (Liam Neeson) every step of the way - and his family! - why can't they find Prin themselves? Why do they need Michael? And why set up someone if they can easily erase their trace? When they allowed Michael to listen to his family, his family just happened to talk about him at that very second. Yeah, right, that's so believable...

This film blatantly borrows from Non-stop, Unstoppable, Knowing, etc. that it should be considered a crime. Even the train crash scene was equally overdone as the crash scene from Super 8. When the police arrives at the train crash scene, there first reaction is to draw their guns and ask Michael to step outside. Are you friggin kiddin me!! The crash site looks like a war zone and they're not even interested in the well-being of the passengers (or hostages, as preposterous as it is). No ambulances rush to the scene?? No fire engines??? On the news they say no word of casualties... That's because no-one bothered to check yet!!

This was cliche upon cliche and elevated to the point of stupidity during the final act. Similar to 'Non-Stop', this is equally forgettable. (What was the point of 'Non-Stop' again...??)

THE COMMUTER is another brain-light action thriller that casts an ageing (and increasingly unbelievable) Liam Neeson as a kind of tough-guy hero who's always the single-handed man to solve a massive conspiracy or take down endless bad guys. This was from the director who made the lightweight UNKNOWN and it's a similarly-levelled picture. It's also very much like NON-STOP except it takes place on a train instead of a plane. Neeson plays an average commuter who lands in the middle of a deadly conspiracy and has to quickly figure out what's going on. A mildly confused first half soon gives way to the usual fisticuffs and outrageous CGI action scenes in the second, including a ludicrous train crash even crazier than the one in the Thai flick VENGEANCE OF AN ASSASSIN. Neeson is strictly on autopilot, doubled more than Seagal in one of his latter-day movies, and solid character actors like Vera Farmiga and Jonathan Banks are quite wasted. In the end, THE COMMUTER is a typical popcorn flick, lightweight and instantly forgettable.

There was a good deal of potential with 'The Commuter'. In particular that the premise was an interesting, if somewhat familiar (especially if you've seen any other action-thriller film starring Liam Neeson), one, the trailer looked good and the cast is a talented one.

Watching 'The Commuter', my thoughts were that it was very much watchable that started off promisingly and had a number of good elements. But also that it was also something of a bumpy ride at the same time that derails in the third act. Very like 'Non-Stop' (except on a train rather than a plane), of which there have been comparisons to, and the strengths and flaws are similar even. Is it worth watching? Yes. Is it a great film? Not to me, but have no regrets watching and certainly didn't think that it was a waste of time.

Starting with the strengths, 'The Commuter' does look great, the cinematography is slick and often adds to the atmosphere created, the lighting is moody and neither garish or drab, the special effects are good and don't overload the film in quantity and the confined train location (should have been the star and very much is) creates a genuine sense of claustrophobia, a feeling maintained throughout even in the weaker stretches. The score is also suitably moody, not sounding too obvious or manipulative.

Neeson is a very strong, commanding and appropriately stoic presence, as to be expected, and Vera Farmiga is a suitably cold-blooded femme fatale. Direction is atmospheric, some twists are fun and not too predictable and there is a fair share of thrills, tension and suspense.

It is such a shame that 'The Commuter' does get far too over the top and far fetched in the third act, am trying to use the phrase "felt like a completely different film" much less but feel it does apply here with it becoming less thriller-like and more bombastic action-oriented. The film loses momentum at this point and the twists become more convoluted. The solution should have gone out with a bang but peters out, being too implausible, overblown and confused.

Dialogue is hit and miss throughout but becomes increasingly hammy and vague at this point. The rest of the cast do their best but don't make much impression, being saddled with very little to do in sketchily written roles.

Overall, bumpy but watchable. 5/10 Bethany Cox