The Commuter (2018)
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A man is unwittingly recruited into a murder conspiracy after meeting a mysterious woman on his daily train commute.
The story
Michael MacCauley, a former NYPD officer turned insurance agent, is abruptly laid off from his job, threatening his family's financial security. While on his daily train commute from Tarrytown to Grand Central Terminal, he meets a mysterious woman named Joanna. She proposes a 'hypothetical' situation where he is paid to locate a passenger with an alias called 'Prynne.' After finding a sum of money, Michael is warned that the train is rigged with hidden cameras. He soon realizes he is being manipulated into a dangerous conspiracy involving a key witness to a city official's death.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Michael MacCauley, a former NYPD officer turned insurance agent, is laid off and faces financial ruin. During his daily train commute, he meets Joanna, who pays him to find a passenger named 'Prynne.' Michael discovers the train is rigged with cameras and that he is being used to identify a witness to the death of Enrique Mendez. After a series of violent encounters where Michael mistakenly identifies a target and discovers an FBI agent's body, he realizes he is being set up. He eventually discovers that 'Prynne' is actually a 16-year-old girl named Sofia, who holds incriminating information. Another passenger, Oliver, tries to kill Sofia for money, but Michael kills him. Joanna then attempts to force Michael to kill Sofia by detonating explosives to derail the train. Michael manages to unhook the final carriage to save the passengers, but a conductor named Sam is killed. During the chaos, Michael's former partner Murphy arrives to negotiate, but Murphy is revealed as a corrupt cop who killed Enrique. They fight, and Murphy is accidentally shot by police snipers who mistake him for Michael. Sofia is rescued by the FBI, and Michael is exonerated and offered his job back. Michael later confronts Joanna on a train, revealing he has her incriminating hard drive.
- First release year
- 2018
- Runtime (minutes)
- 105
- Production countries
- United States; United Kingdom; France
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Jaume Collet-Serra
- Writers
- Byron Willinger · screenplay; Philip de Blasi · screenplay; Ryan Engle · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Liam Neeson; Vera Farmiga · Joanna; Patrick Wilson · Walt; Jonathan Banks; Sam Neill · Sam; Florence Pugh · Sofia
- Genres
- action thriller; mystery thriller
- Themes
- Conspiracy; Corruption; Sacrifice
- Tone and mood
- Suspenseful; Action-oriented
- Setting
- A commuter train on the Hudson Line from Tarrytown to Grand Central Terminal in the modern day.
- Premise and plot tags
- Train; Murder; Witness Protection; Conspiracy
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics, who compared it to 'Non-Stop' but praised Liam Neeson's performance and the suspense. Audiences generally rated it higher than critics, praising the cast and mystery elements.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 56 · scale: 100 · review count: 44; CinemaScore · score: B · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The film was originally scheduled for release in the United States on October 13, 2017.; The film was produced by StudioCanal and The Picture Company.; The film was shot at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire, England, and in New York City.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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