Cleaner Movie Review: Daisy Ridley shines in a slick but shaky action ride

Story: When activists seize a skyscraper gala, ex-soldier-turned-window-cleaner Joey (Daisy Ridley) finds herself stranded outside. With her brother among the hostages, she must scale the building and outwit the attackers to save him and everyone inside.Review: In

Cleaner

, director Martin Campbell returns to familiar territory: the taut, high-concept action thriller. But while the film showcases his well-known flair for vertical spectacle and tension-filled set pieces, it never fully transcends its genre roots or narrative implausibilities. Anchored by a committed Daisy Ridley, the film is a functional but uneven ride—elevated by direction, hindered by writing. Set in a gleaming London skyscraper,

Cleaner

introduces Joey Locke (Ridley), an apathetic ex-soldier turned window cleaner with a tragic past and a climbing habit rooted in childhood trauma. As her precarious job takes her to the building’s upper floors, eco-terrorists storm an executive gala inside, triggering a hostage crisis. Joey—stranded on the outside—becomes the only person capable of intervening, especially with her younger brother Michael (Matthew Tuck) trapped within. The setup is, admittedly, far-fetched. A former military operative conveniently moonlighting as a skyscraper window washer is the kind of pulpy premise that only works if the film embraces its absurdity.

Cleaner

does, to an extent. Screenwriters Simon Uttley, Paul Andrew Williams and Matthew Orton leans heavily on genre nostalgia, drawing clear inspiration from

Die Hard

and even

The Towering Inferno

, borrowing not only their structure but also their sense of contained chaos. Campbell’s direction brings polish to the proceedings, and his eye for height-induced anxiety is sharp as ever. The film’s best moments come when it forgets its dialogue and lets Ridley dangle, climb, and fight against gravity and odds. But for all its kinetic energy,

Cleaner

falters in the writing. The dialogue is often unnecessarily heavy and sluggish, flattening emotional beats and undercutting tension. Joey’s competence verges on implausible, removing real stakes from what should feel like a desperate, near-impossible mission. The film wants to paint her as vulnerable yet unstoppable—but in making her too capable, it strips the story of suspense. That said, Ridley carries the film with quiet intensity. Unlike the usual action heroes, she stays serious and determined. Her scenes with Tuck bring surprising emotional weight, offering glimpses of tenderness in a film otherwise propelled by gunfire and grappling hooks. Their sibling dynamic is one of the film’s few grounded elements, even if it occasionally feels underwritten. The antagonists, led by Taz Skylar’s Noah, provide chaotic opposition but lack ideological nuance. The film hints at internal divisions within the eco-terrorist group—between moral protest and violent extremism—but ultimately sidesteps the ethical debate in favor of more explosions. Clive Owen, in a blink-and-miss role, is underutilized and fails to inject the gravitas his presence promises. In the end,

Cleaner

is a serviceable action movie. It’s well-directed, competently acted, and delivers enough suspense to keep you watching. But weak writing and surface-level themes stop it from being more than just another decent thriller. For fans of the genre, it’s worth a watch—but don’t expect it to leave a lasting impression.