The Commuter Parent Guide

I’ll endeavor to ignore all the incredibly tempting railway puns that dangle within my mind as I describe a movie that puts Liam Neeson into yet another plot (like the Taken Franchise) where he must save the day or his family will die.

Neeson’s character, Michael MacCauley, is a former cop turned insurance salesman (filmmakers can’t move past the notion that all NYC police must hail from the Emerald Isle). And he has just had a very bad day at the office. After a decade of successful service the 60-year-old is suddenly handed his walking papers. The bad news in compounded by the fact that he already lost his nest egg in the 2008 recession and is barely able to keep up with bills and paying his kid’s university tuition.

After downing a few beers with Alex (Patrick Wilson), his buddy and former partner in law enforcement, Michael boards the homebound train, still not sure how to break the news to his wife (Elizabeth McGovern). But one thing is certain, when Liam Neeson hops on your usual ride home from work, the trip is bound to be anything but mundane.

Michael is quickly disturbed by a chatty blonde (Vera Farmiga) who insists she’s intrigued by various personality types. Assuring her he’s already married doesn’t put the conversation on hold. Instead, he soon discovers she not only knows his marital status but also has the address of his wife and son, is familiar with his career background and understands he’s desperate for cash. So, to fix that last problem, she proposes an “easy” solution: In the train’s restroom he’ll find a package that contains a wad of cash. Then, if Michael can identify a specific passenger carrying a certain bag, he can go home and expect an even bigger payment.

Not surprisingly, if he refuses his assignment, his wife and son won’t be there to meet him when he arrives.

Ripping a page from the Alfred Hitchcock school of filmmaking textbook, The Commuter uses confinement within an always moving train to generate tension and suspense. And, if you can forget about a few cracks in the plot, the setup delivers a typical thriller product that involves an unstoppable vehicle, a ticking clock and a herd of innocent people who should have run screaming from the carriage the moment they saw Neeson’s face.

Relative to the action star’s other tangles with bad guys, this trip may offer a fun ride for older teens and adults thanks to virtually no sexual content and fewer profanities—although a sexual expletive and crude finger gesture still make their way into the scant script. As expected, what does fill a great deal of screen time are fistfights that occur in various conveniently-empty locations on the train. These violent altercations include some blood, lots of meat smacking sounds (the foley effects team had an even bigger workout) and the non-stop peril faced by surrounding passengers. This content makes it a poor choice for pre-teens (unless you desire to give new meaning to a “transit nightmare”).

By the time this train pulls into the station, albeit sideways, you may find yourself sweating with the cast of hapless characters that shared this ride. And, just like Liam Neeson can’t help himself from becoming caught up in yet another shadowy scenario, I too must release my inner desire to tell you The Commuter is on track to grease the January box office rails and might be the perfect ticket to give audiences the token ride they expect from a star with this much “esteam”.

About author

Rod Gustafson

Rod Gustafson has worked in various media industries since 1977. He founded Parent Previews in 1993, and today continues to write and broadcast the reviews in newspapers, on radio and (of course) on the Internet. His efforts also include writing and researching media in all its forms and observing how it effects society and culture. He and his wife Donna have four children.