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It is a pretty common notion that books are better than films. This is usually true because a film has constraints on length and time, while a book doesn’t have these issues and can flesh out a story properly. However, there have been instances where a film adaptation of a novel turned out to be way better than the book.

Some of these films went on to win accolades, like the Academy Awards, while others became cult classics. From The Godfather to Misery, these are our favorite picks for the movies that are way better than the book they were based on.

10. The Godfather (1972) Based on: The Godfather by Mario Puzo (1969)

Mario Puzo’s crime novel was a brilliantly imagined work, quickly becoming a bestseller worldwide. When Puzo discussed a film adaptation of The Godfather with Francis Ford Coppola, fans never expected it to outperform the novel. Coppola ran...

Netflix is officially opening the doors to Dept. Q. The first images for the streamer's new crime thriller novel adaptation have been released, and they feature Emmy nominee Matthew Goode leading a cold case unit as the prickly, formerly top-rated detective Carl Morck. This series will mark a welcome return to television for the actor of The Imitation Game and Watchmen fame, coming three years after the end of his tenure on A Discovery of Witches and his appearance in the Paramount+ miniseries, The Offer. It'll also reunite him with Scott Frank — writer, director, and co-creator of The Queen's Gambit —18 years after joining forces for the helmer's star-studded feature debut, The Lookout. Together, they'll once again take to the small screen to solve murder mysteries on May 29.

Based on the series of novels of the same name by author Jussi Adler-Olsen, Dept. Q is set in Edinburgh and follows Detective...

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When we say that Netflix has something for everyone, we do mean that because the horror sub-genre of serial killers has always been popular among audiences, making a good show on this topic is pretty hard. That’s why we had to scour through Netflix’s huge library of content to find the best of the best. So, here are the 10 best serial killer shows on Netflix you should watch right now.

Marcella Credit – Netflix

Marcella is a British Nordic noir crime thriller drama series created by Hans Rosenfeldt and Nicola Larder. The Netflix series follows Marcella Backland, a former police detective, as she returns to work to investigate a series of connected murders to find the killer. Marcella stars Anna Friel, Nicholas Pinnock, Ray Panthaki, Jack Doolan, Jamie Bamber, Nina Sosanya, Charlie Covell, Sophia Brown, Amanda Burton,...

Stars: Daisy Ridley, Matthew Tuck, Clive Owen, Lee Boardman, Rufus Jones, Taz Skylar, Ruth Gemmell | Written by Matthew Orton, Simon Uttley, Paul Andrew Williams | Directed by Martin Campbell

Alright, let’s dive into Cleaner, an action-packed thriller that’s got everyone buzzing this year! Directed by the maestro of high-stakes cinema, Martin Campbell, and starring Daisy Ridley in a career-defining role, this movie is a rollercoaster of tension, stunts, and sheer entertainment that demands, no… commands your attention. Buckle up, because I’m about to get into this skyscraper action thriller showdown!

Cleaner kicks off with Joey Locke (Daisy Ridley), a former soldier now scraping by as a window cleaner in London. She’s tough, she’s haunted, and she’s just trying to keep her head down while supporting her autistic younger brother, Michael (Matthew Tuck in a supporting role that’s equal parts tender and heartbreaking). But fate has other plans.

“Cleaner” (2025) is an action thriller that explores the moral and ethical quandaries of today’s world. It shows a group of radical activists infiltrating a lavish gala to send their message across. While doing so, they trap people inside the building and leave their futures at risk. So, a window cleaner decides to rescue those who are stuck inside. Daisy Ridley plays the cleaner, who puts her life at risk. Taz Skylar, Flavia Watson, Ruth Gemmell, Ray Fearon, and Matthew Tuck make up its key supporting cast. The film was theatrically released in February 2025 and is now available to rent online.

Spoilers Ahead

Cleaner (2025) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:

“Cleaner” is directed by Martin Campbell, known widely for his work on James Bond films like “Casino Royale,” “Goldeneye,” and “The Mask of Zorro.” Simon Uttley, Matthew Orton, and Paul Andrew Williams have written its screenplay.

What happens in Cleaner, starring Daisy Ridley?...

While speculation over who will play the next James Bond rages on, things are coming together behind the camera for the next and 26th installment in the 007 franchise. Recently, producers David Heyman and Amy Pascal have been eyed to produce the new film, but no official announcements can be made until the paperwork is finished regarding the $1 billion buyout of Barbara Broccoli's Bond rights. The Sun claims that writers have already been hired, but again, there hasn't been an announcement. Likewise, no announcement can be made regarding the director of the next film, but it's said that Edward Berger and Alfonso Cuarón are in the running. Now, Matthew Belloni of Puck said on The Town podcast that he predicts Cuarón will get the gig, which would be his first film in seven years and follow his Apple TV+ series Disclaimer.

"It's an informed, speculative pick," said Belloni. "And it is not Chris Nolan.

Do you know that movie about some robbers who enter a building to steal and find themselves confronted by a guy who happens to be there and starts causing problems? Yes, that guy was Bruce Willis, and the movie was “Die Hard” (1988), an iconic film from those 80s years.

Now comes “Cleaner” with a very similar plot, except that times have changed and now Daisy Ridley is the heroine and the terrorists are actually eco-terrorists, though the intellectual challenge remains exactly the same: to forget everything and relax with an entertaining movie that makes us forget, at least for two hours, that the world is a real mess.

Martin Campbell directs this entertaining, fun action movie that will undoubtedly please fans of the action genre.

Plot

Joey Locke is a window cleaner in a luxurious company building. During a lavish party, terrorists gag the attendees to obtain access codes to the company,...

Before NCIS, Mark Harmon was often seen as just a pretty boy, but one standout role proved he had the grit to play Gibbs. His performance exuded quiet strength and control — exactly what the showrunners needed to see. It shattered any doubts and made him the obvious choice for NCIS’s no-nonsense leader.

Mark Harmon on NCIS | Credits: CBS

So, which role changed everything? And how did it convince CBS that Harmon was more than just a charming face?

How Mark Harmon’s West Wing role proved he was more than just a ‘pretty boy’ for NCIS Mark Harmon in The West Wing | Credits: Warner Bros. Television

When NCIS creator Don Bellisario first considered Mark Harmon for the role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, two words popped into his head — pretty boy. Harmon, the charming heartthrob of St. Elsewhere and Chicago Hope, didn’t exactly scream tough-as-nails federal agent.

But then...

Exclusive: Emmy Award nominee Clifton Collins Jr. and Mo McRae have joined the cast of Apple TV+’s limited series Lucky created by Jonathan Tropper. Production is currently underway in Los Angeles.

Based on Marissa Stapley’s bestselling novel and Reese’s Book Club pick of the same name, Lucky stars Anya Taylor-Joy as the eponymous heroine. She is a young woman who left behind the life of crime she was raised in years ago but must now embrace her darker, criminal side one final time in a desperate attempt to escape her past.

Collins will portray ‘Dutch’ and McRae will portray ‘Agent Eli Gates.’

The pair joins the previously announced cast members Annette Bening, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Timothy Olyphant and Drew Starkey.

Lucky is produced by Hello Sunshine and Tropper Ink, and is created by Tropper under his overall deal with Apple...

Roger Ebert was one of the most prominent voices in the movie industry for decades. A film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, Ebert wrote thousands of film reviews from 1967 until he died in 2013. Filmmakers waited with bated breath for his reviews of their films while readers trusted his every word when deciding which film to go see. Ebert influenced generations of critics and moviegoers not only through his prose but also by helping draw attention to certain independent and international films as well as upstart filmmakers.

Ebert has reviewed films of just about any genre, so it's only natural he'd have reviewed plenty of comic book films along the way. While Ebert reviewed most of them negatively, there were a handful of comic book films he truly enjoyed, giving nine of them a perfect four stars out of four along with a couple that fell short with three and a half stars.

Denzel Washington is no stranger to collaborating with the industry's most prominent filmmakers, especially Spike Lee. However, while most know that both joined forces for the Oscar-nominated Malcom X, a relatively underrated title paired them in a thrilling heist film with an all-star supporting cast. Inside Man, released in 2006, received acclaim from critics and audiences flocked to the cinemas, earning it $186 million worldwide on a $45 million budget. Almost 20 years later, it has reclaimed its audience, this time in the streaming world.

Inside Man made it to Max's Top 10 most watched movies this week, according to Flix Patrol. The 2006 thriller is Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with an 86% score from critics, while audiences are equally enamored, garnering an 85% Popcornmeter rating. Inside Man features Washington playing a detective who is caught in a high-octane hostage negotiation with an incredibly intelligent bank robber played by Clive Owen. However, not everything is as clear-cut as it appears,...

Hollywood has a long history of producing movies that, despite being great, fail to succeed at the box office, from classics like It's A Wonderful Life to modern cult gems like Dredd. While not every flop goes on to find success, some do earn praise from a dedicated fan base, earning them the status of cult classic. Where some of these films can garner a following soon after release, others can take years, even more than a decade for people to resonate with them.

Cult classics may not be box office gold, and even their sequels often fail to turn a profit, but they've maintained the appreciation of fans and critics alike. The reality is even if a movie is excellent, the studios don't always believe in them enough to market them, while others can face tough competition upon release. From treasured animated movies to stylish science fiction stories, all...

Quick LinksWhat Is Daisy Ridley's Cleaner About?Cleaner Has Direct Die Hard Parallels

The following contains spoilers for Cleaner, now playing in theaters.

The Die Hard movies are arguably the gold standard for action films. Even if they aren't someone's favorite, it's hard to deny they elevated the genre. To this day, fans adore Bruce Willis' John McClane and how many terrorists he fought in this franchise, creating some of the entertainment industry's most rollicking rides.

It molded the iconic Gruber brothers, who are some of cinema's most fearsome criminals. Another big reason why it's so beloved is how it nailed the concept of hostages being taken, whether in skyscrapers or airports. One 2025 British thriller has that same energy, and it features one of Hollywood's biggest names: Daisy Ridley in Martin Campbell's Cleaner.

What Is Daisy Ridley's Cleaner About? Ridley's Joey Has to Defeat Terrorists In a...

The following contains spoilers for Cleaner, in theaters and on demand now. It also contains a mention of suicide.

The biggest surprise in Cleaner is Taz Skylar as Noah. Every great action movie needs a memorable villain, and Noah certainly grabs the attention of the viewer. He's introduced as just another one of Marcus' henchmen, but then goes rogue and reveals himself to be the real threat that Daisy Ridley's hero Joey Locke has to overcome. And Skylar is chewing the scenery in every moment.

In an interview with Cbr, Skylar spoke about the twist of Noah being Cleaner's real antagonist. He discussed his approach to the character, and how he played off his co-stars Ridley and Clive Owen. Plus, he gives his thoughts on if Noah got a properly villainous conclusion at the end of the movie.

Cbr: Everyone watching Cleaner assumes that Clive Owen's character Marcus is the villain,...

Jacques Audiard’sEmilia Pérez was named best French film of the year at the 50th César awards on Friday night (February 28), taking home seven awards from 12 nominations.

The Mexico-set musical crime thriller that won the jury prize and shared best actress award at Cannes Film Festival last May also earned a best director and adapted screenplay prize for Audiard and awards for cinematography, original music, visual effects, and sound. The film has sold some 1.2million tickets at the French box office since its August 2014 release for Pathé.

Scroll down for the full list of winners

Stars Karla Sofia Gascon and...

Jacques Audiard’sEmilia Pérez was named best French film of the year at the 50th César awards on Friday night (February 28), taking home seven awards from 12 nominations.

The Mexico-set musical crime thriller that won the jury prize and shared best actress award at Cannes Film Festival last May also earned a best director and adapted screenplay prize for Audiard and awards for cinematography, original music, visual effects, and sound. The film has sold some 1.2million tickets at the French box office since its August 2014 release for Pathé.

Scroll down for the full list of winners

Stars Karla Sofia Gascon and...

Jacques Audiard swept the board at the 50th Césars on Friday evening, winning Best Director and Film for Emilia Pérez against expectations after its award-season campaign was derailed by the uncovering of racist tweets by its star Karla Sofía Gascón.

“It’s such a pleasure although I fear you actually don’t like me,” quipped a visibly moved Audiard as he received the Directors Award, which was announced first, with Anatomy of Fall Oscar and César winner Justine Triet handing it over. “I thank my marvellous team and when I say my team it’s not in the sense of ownership, but rather a declaration of love.”

Audiard also cited Gascón, who he has publicly distanced himself from in the wake of the tweet scandal, as well as co-star Zoe Saldaña, referring to them as “My darling Zoe, my Darling Karla.”

Audiard’s Oscar hopeful also clinched Best Adapted Screenplay,...

Jacques Audiard’s crime musical “Emilia Perez” won a raft of prizes, including best film and director, at the 50th edition of the Cesar Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars, on Friday in Paris.

“Emilia Perez” won a total of seven awards out of 12 nominations. While Zoe Saldana and Karla Sofía Gascón were both on hand and nominated for best actress, they lost to Hafsia Herzi, who starred as a prison supervisor in Stéphane Demoustier’s “Borgo.”

Gascón made her first award show appearance at the Cesar Awards ceremony after laying low in the wake of her offensive posts. Although she skipped the press line on the red carpet, Gascón sat on the same row as Audiard and Saldana inside the Olympia theater, but didn’t seat next to them and didn’t seem to be on speaking terms.

The ceremony’s emcee, French actor Jean-Pascal Zadi, tried to...

Jacques Audiard’s Oscar contender Emilia Pérez was the big winner at the 50th César Awards, France’s equivalent of the Oscars, taking best film and best director among multiple honors.

Audiard won best director and best adapted screenplay for Emilia Pérez, and the film also took honors for best sound, best cinematography, best visual effects and best original music.

But Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón, who walked the red carpet at the Paris gala, returning to the spotlight for the first time since the eruption of the controversy surrounding her offensive resurfaced tweets, lost out in the best actress race to Hafsia Herzi, who won for her role as a female prison guard in Stéphane Demoustier’s drama Borgo.

Gascón, who is Spanish, skipped Spain’s national film awards, the Goyas, earlier this month following the backlash over her past social media posts. Netflix removed the actress, the...

In 2005, Robert Rodriguez changed the way we looked at comic book movies forever with Sin City, his picture-perfect adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel series. Such a passion project it was for Rodriguez that he even resigned from the Director’s Guild so he could share directing credit with Miller himself. The movie was a box office success, making $158 million worldwide off a $40 million budget, but more importantly, it gave us a thrillingly unique example of how green-screen technology could be utilized – put simply, you’d never seen a graphic novel come to life quite like this. Naturally, with a wealth of Sin City material still available to them, Rodriguez and Miller would want to make a sequel to their hit movie. And they did, although it took a whole lot longer to come to life than anyone initially expected. Hope you’re ready to travel back to that...

Daisy Ridley, the lead actor in the new Star Wars trilogy, has a new movie coming out on February 21, 2025. The title is Cleaner,and per the actor's claims,she felt very alone during the production of the film. However, it wasn't because she willingly stayed away from the rest of the cast and crew. It was because the film's plot called for her character to be alone most of the time.

Directed by Martin Campbell, the director of James Bond films like GoldenEye and Casino Royale, as well as the films Edge of Darkness and Green Lantern, Cleaner follows Ridley's Joey Locke, an ex-soldier who has been dishonorably discharged and now cleans windows in skyscrapers for a living. Locke finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy when activists take over a gala in one of the buildings, and hostages are taken. Her brother is one of the hostages,...

Martin Campbell is one of the best action movie directors, and that shows in Cleaner. The Daisy Ridley film benefits from Campbell's visual style and his decades of experience as he creates incredible amounts of tension. As Ridley's character Joey Locke desperately tries to stop an activist group, Campbell makes sure audiences feel just as anxious.

But how was that possible? In an interview with Cbr, Campbell speaks about what brought him to Cleaner and his collaboration with Ridley. He also discusses what effect his time working on the James Bond franchise had on the film. Plus, he reveals what he thinks modern action movies are doing wrong -- and reflects on the critically acclaimed TV project many fans might not even know about.

Cbr: You've directed so many action films in your career, including some massively well-known ones. What made Cleaner stand out to you as something different?...

Here’s a weird fact: Shortly before the tragic events of 9/11, Jackie Chan was in pre-production on an action movie called “Nosebleed,” in which he would have played a window washer fighting terrorists at the World Trade Center. That movie obviously never got made, but the concept has apparently been floating around in the ether, because nearly 25 years later we’ve got “Cleaner,” a “Die Hard” knockoff starring Daisy Ridley as a window washer fighting terrorists on a different skyscraper.

As “Die Hard” knockoffs go, it could be worse.

“Die Hard” knockoffs are their own subgenre, in case you hadn’t noticed, and there sure are a lot of them. The formula is simple: Bad guys take over a specific location, a good guy is trapped in that location with them, and the good guy takes down those bad guys one at a time. In the years that followed John McTiernan...

February always comes and goes so fast, being the shortest month of the year and one of the coldest. With the last weekend of February 2025 landing on the 21st, at least we can say that the month is going out with a bang, offering some great movies to watch in theaters this weekend. Notably, Oz Perkins follows up the fan-favorite Longlegs when he tackles Stephen King in the latest adaptation of The Monkey. Those looking for high-octane thrills will also want to check out Martin Campbell's The Cleaner.

Those who would rather stay have a few streaming options this month. Shudder brings the debut film of Spider One of 'Powerman 5000' fame to its streaming platform with the demonic Little Bites. The world's fastest rodent also lands on Paramount+ with Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Finally, those who want to witness the box office car crash that was The Crow...

Taz Skylar was the talk of the town back in 2023 when he wowed audiences as the smooth-talking Sanji in Netflix’s One Piece live-action series. But in Cleaner, he will be wearing a completely different cap. This time, he’s Noah, dangerous, unpredictable, and nothing like the character fans know him for.

Taz Skylar as Sanji in the One Piece live-action. [Credit: Netflix]

Thus, teaming up with Clive Owen’s ruthless Marcus, Noah goes head-to-head with his once close friend Joey (played by Daisy Ridley) in a battle that’s anything but friendly. And very recently, he shared his experience of playing such a character on the big screen.

One Piece‘s Taz Skylar plays a loose cannon in the new movie Cleaner!

In Cleaner, Taz Skylar steps into the role of Noah, a loose cannon in an eco-terrorist group, who crashes a corrupt energy company’s high-profile gala, and thanks to him,...

Excursions to a galaxy far, far away aside, Daisy Ridley’s career of late has been refreshingly grounded with projects of all scales. From the modest but fiendishly entertaining domestic thriller “Magpie” to the soulful office dramedy “Sometimes I Think About Dying” and the inspirational sports movie “Young Woman and the Sea,” the wide-ranging filmography Ridley has been recently building on her own terms stretches across biting indies and classical family blockbusters alike.

With director and James Bond veteran Martin Campbell’s “Cleaner,” Ridley further expands her repertoire with an old-fashioned and pressure-cooker action flick, dangling from the glass façade of a skyscraper to give both Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt and Bruce Willis’ John McClane a run for their money. In fairness, the tiny pleasures of the predictably paint-by-numbers “Cleaner” aren’t remotely close to anything a white-knuckled “Die Hard” movie or the magnificent “Mission: Impossible” franchise can offer.

In a sit-down conversation with uInterview, actor Taz Skylar shared his experience working with his professional “heroes” in the new action-thriller Cleaner. Reflecting on his experience working with veteran actors Clive Owen and Daisy Ridley, Skylar shared his biggest takeaway with uInterview founder Erik Meers. “People who are great are great because they do their job every day the best they can,” he said. “You know how they say never meet your heroes? Well, I’m glad I met Clive, because he was just awesome. And he was inspiring, and he was supportive, and Daisy was also inspiring and supportive…so I guess what I learned from it is, “Meet your heroes!’” Cleaner hits theaters on Feb. 21.

The post Exclusive Video: Taz Skylar On Working With His Heroes Clive Owen & Daisey Ridley Filming ‘Cleaner’ appeared first on uInterview.

Taz Skylar, best known for his role as Sanji in Netflix’s One Piece, takes on a completely different character in the new action thriller Cleaner. In the film, Skylar plays Noah, a dangerous member of an eco-terrorist group that crashes an energy company’s gala. Unlike the group’s leader Marcus (Clive Owen), who tries to keep things under control, Noah is unpredictable and willing to use violence.

For Skylar, playing Noah was both fun and cathartic. In an interview with ComicBook, he shared, “There’s so many elements of Noah’s rhetoric that are grounded in logic and that have a very profound point to make, that it felt like I suddenly had the license to say a lot of them and say them in a very visceral, very loud, very forward way.”

Skylar also spoke about how he approached his role differently in every scene. “I would...

Stars: Daisy Ridley, Matthew Tuck, Clive Owen, Lee Boardman, Rufus Jones, Taz Skylar, Ruth Gemmell | Written by Matthew Orton, Simon Uttley, Paul Andrew Williams | Directed by Martin Campbell

Since the original Die Hard took the world by storm in 1988, it has inspired countless sequels and knock-offs. Often built around the same basic premise, these films have become a sub-genre in their own right. From Die Hard 2: Die Harder set in an airport, to Under Siege on a naval vessel, Passenger 57 on a plane, and even Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down in the White House, the formula has been repeated in various locations, with a lone hero taking on the bad guys and saving the hostages.

Now, Cleaner, directed by Martin Campbell and written by Matthew Orton, Simon Uttley (James Hyde – The Very Thought of You), and Paul Andrew Williams, brings the formula back to where it all started,...

Since the Golden Age of Hollywood, gangsters have dominated the crime genre, with films like The Untouchables and Scarface exploring the lives of notorious mob bosses and drug kingpins. For some, these films represent the pinnacle of genres like thriller, crime, and drama, typically thanks to the great alignment of cast, writer, and director. Despite their violent nature, these films appeal to people of all stripes, often reinventing cinema altogether through their success.

Gangster movies vary in scale, with modern classics like Sexy Beast and A History of Violence making great use of relatively small casts. Other movies have reeled in audiences through their assembly of some of the biggest and most talented stars of their era, often turning in career-best performances. Through these movies, fans have been shown the inner workings of some of America's most dangerous criminal organizations -- even if they play fast and loose with the facts.

Although her latest role doesn’t call for a lightsaber, Daisy Ridley uses new moves to take on the dark side in Cleaner.

The actress recently opened up about what went into the Mma fight sequences she filmed for the Martin Campbell-helmed action movie, which premieres in theaters on Friday via Quiver Distribution.

“I tried to watch Mma fights,” she told Upi. “Honestly, they’re so violent I struggled to watch that many of them.”

Ridley added of her character Joey Locke, “That level of aggression and that level of being very in your body, that was really the thing that was driving me physically for her.”

Set in London, Cleaner takes places in, around, and on the side of One Canada Square, one of the UK’s tallest buildings. The film watches as a group of radical activists, led by Clive Owen, take over an energy company’s annual gala,...

"If have to ask you – is there anything I should know?" Prime Video has unveiled an official trailer for the new murder mystery thriller Duplicity, the latest from iconic filmmaker Tyler Perry. Not to be confused with the crime comedy also titled Duplicity (from 2009) with Clive Owen & Julia Roberts (technically the title of this one is actually Tyler Perry's Duplicity). Moving on from his connection with Netflix, Perry is now making movies for Prime Video - and this one is out in March next month streaming for everyone to watch. High-powered attorney Marley faces her most personal case yet when she is tasked with uncovering the truth behind the shooting of her best friend Fela's husband by police officers. Marley's search for what really happened leads her down a treacherous maze of deception and betrayal. Of course, as usual with any Tyler Perry crime thriller. This movie stars Kat Graham as Marley,...

Star Wars star Daisy Ridley transforms into a gritty and grounded action hero in this month’s action thriller Cleaner, which has now landed a deeply divisive score on Rotten Tomatoes. Directed by former James Bond filmmaker Martin Campbell, Cleaner finds Ridley as a dishonorably discharged, highly trained ex-soldier who, while working as a cleaner, finds herself at the center of a dangerous hostage situation. Cleaner now stands at a “rotten” 50% on the review aggregator site, but we shall start with the positives, with Nicolás Delgadillo of Discussing Film heaping praise on Ridley and her affinity for action.

“Famed director Martin Campbell doesn't reinvent the wheel, but he does give Daisy Ridley the chance to show off her impressive action skills. This could have easily been another boring high-rise action thriller, but Ridley and Campbell know better.”

Maggie Lovitt of Collider felt similarly, saying, “Cleaner, starring Daisy Ridley, is the...

The Direct spoke with Cleaner director Martin Campbell and star Taz Skylar in a set of exclusive interviews where the two spoke in detail about Daisy Ridley's latest action film.

In the film, Ridley plays Joey, an ex-military member who is now cleaning skyscraper windows for a living. One day, things go in an expected direction as a hostage situation unfolds inside the building, stranding her on the outside of the building.

Skylar plays a character named Noah, an extreme activist who was Joey's friend and co-worker but is now violently trying to get his message of change across to the world alongside Clive Owen's Marcus.

Read full article on The Direct.

Plot: Criminal activists hijack a gala, taking 300 hostages. One extremist plans mass murder as a message to the world. An Ex-soldier turned window cleaner now works to rescue the hostages.

Review: It’s hard to make a movie about terrorists holding hostages for ransom and not think of Die Hard. Set it in a skyscraper and you can practically hear someone in the distance saying “Yippee Ki-Yay.” The comparisons are always going to be there when a certain combination of story and setting arises. And while it’s hard not to be constantly reminded of that night with John McClane, Martin Campbell’s Cleaner is able to do enough to stand on its own with a salient message about revolution. While it’s certainly not without flaws, it’s damn entertaining.

In Cleaner, Daisy Ridley stars as Joey, a former soldier who is now a window cleaner who can’t quite get her life together.

Daisy Ridley fought to save the galaxy in Star Wars, but her battle in Cleaner is even tougher. The action film stars Ridley as Joey Locke, who must spring into action when the building she's outside of is taken over by a radical environmentalist group. In the movie, Ridley trades in her lightsaber for working her way into a high-rise -- and Joey becomes a hero in a different way.

In an interview with Cbr, Ridley spoke about how Cleaner felt like a film unlike any that she's done before. She discussed the joys of working with James Bond director Martin Campbell and revealed how Cleaner captured the "vertigo" feeling of Joey being seemingly in mid-air. Plus, Ridley revealed her favorite part of the movie -- which isn't what audiences will expect.

Cbr: Audiences still primarily know you as Rey in Star Wars. You get to do more heroic stunts as Joey in Cleaner,...

If you work or live in a high-rise building, you probably haven’t given much thought to the people who clean the windows from the outside. Or if you have, you might have wondered how they have the courage to perch on a small platform hundreds of feet above the ground. But you might want to give them another look. One of them might be the only thing preventing you from falling victim to a gang of terrorists.

At least, that’s the unlikely premise of the new action film directed by James Bond veteran Martin Campbell (GoldenEye, Casino Royale) and starring Daisy Ridley as Joey, a window cleaner who finds herself desperately battling a gang of eco-terrorists who have taken over an energy company building and taken some 300 hostages.

Yes, Joey is the latest in a long series of unlikely action movie heroes who find themselves in the wrong...

Daisy Ridley channels Die Hard's John McClane in Cleaner, an uneven action-thriller that has the Star Wars heroine hanging off a London skyscraper while battling ruthless eco-terrorists. She trades in her lightsaber for savage beatdowns in a bone-crushing medley of fists, guns, and pretty much any sharp weapon in the immediate vicinity. The film's straightforward premise has its share of unexpected twists but fails the logic test by a country mile. Head-scratching developments critical to the plot challenges willing suspension of disbelief. One in particular is so pervasive, it almost derails Cleaner's positive action elements.

We first meet Joey Locke (Poppy Townsend White) as a scrappy girl sitting dangerously on her towering apartment's window sill. She hides while her brother Michael takes the blunt of a wretched father's abuse. In the present, adult Joey (Ridley) runs late for work while still dealing with the fallout from her childhood.

Daisy Ridley, the performer known for playing Rey in the 2010s revival of the Star Wars universe, played the Force-sensitive hero for the first time ten years ago. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens launched Ridley into Hollywood stardom, but the actor doesn't usually revisit the movie. However, Ridley has revealed that she has watched The Force Awakens recently and says it's "sweet" to see herself younger on the screen.

Ridley spoke to Collider during a screening of her upcoming movie, Cleaner, but the conversation turned to Star Wars at some point. After a decade since The Force Awakens hit theaters, she reflected on her reaction when she saw herself in one of the biggest franchise revivals of the 21st century:

"I'd watched [The Force Awakens] maybe three times around the time it came out, and weirdly it was on at the gym when I was working out. So I saw...

Director Martin Campbell, who has successfully rebooted the James Bond franchise twice, first with Pierce Brosnan’s first outing in 1995’s GoldenEye and again in Daniel Craig’s first movie Casino Royale in 2006, has now predicted when he thinks the latest era of 007 will begin. Speaking with Men’s Journal recently, Campbell offered his insight into what the future holds for Bond...and questioned whether there will ever even be another reboot following the “legal thing” between Amazon and producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.

“I mean, is there going to be another Bond? That's the question. I mean there's this legal thing right now. Which, by the way, when I did GoldenEye, there was a six-year gap between the last Dalton one and that. And now, of course, they have this problem with Amazon. It's ironic. It's sort of the same thing. God knows what's going to happen.

Martin Campbell’s Cleaner sets out to recapture the magic of the director’s two James Bond films, 1995’s GoldenEye and 2006’s Casino Royale, by engaging with ripped-from-the-headlines issues while also basking in the ostensibly reassuring warmth of a Cold War-era franchise blockbuster formula. Here the issues are climate change and radical activism, and the formula is a distinctly Die Hard-grade concoction.

John McClane facsimile Joey Locke (Daisy Ridley) is an ex-military window cleaner who ends up dangling from the London headquarters of the ethically dubious Agnian Energy corporation while an investors gala is taken over by eco-terrorists. Trapped inside the skyscraper is her autistic adult brother, Michael (Matthew Tuck), who is, of course, a brilliant computer hacker annoyingly obsessed with the MCU (he carries a rubber Thor hammer in public and namedrops Kevin Feige in casual conversation). We also get two Hans Grubers: terrorist leader Marcus (Clive Owen), an...

Daisy Ridley is back in action mode with Martin Campbell’s Cleaner.

The English actor is coming off two years’ worth of acclaimed work in a number of different genres, including the biographical sports drama Young Woman and the Sea, the offbeat romantic dramedy Sometimes I Think About Dying and her self-generated neo-noir Magpie. But when the opportunity presented itself to work with the filmmaker behind two beloved James Bond films, Casino Royale and GoldenEye, Ridley knew it was time to return to the type of physical acting that made her a household name via the Star Wars sequel trilogy. (Campbell and Ridley hit it off so well that they’re already in development on another action-thriller called Dedication.)

Opening in theaters on Feb. 21, Ridley plays Joey Locke, a former soldier who’s now a high-rise window cleaner for a London building that’s home to a prominent energy company.

Daisy Ridley joins us to discuss 'Cleaner,' her new action movie with Clive Owen, directed by James Bond icon Martin Campbell. She dishes on the hand-to-hand fighting of the film, and touches on returning to Rey in 'Star Wars.' From Quiver Distribution, 'Cleaner' hits theaters on Feb. 21, 2025; tickets are now on sale at Fandango through the link below:

https://www.fandango.com/cleaner-2025-238959/movie-overview

In 'Cleaner,' hoping to expose corruption, radical activists take 300 hostages at an energy company's annual gala in a high-rise building. Their cause soon gets hijacked by an extremist within their ranks who's ready to kill everyone. It's now up to a former soldier who works as a window cleaner to save the hostages trapped inside, including her younger brother.

The upcoming action thriller Cleaner is set to deliver high-stakes action and suspense, with Children of Men's Clive Owen taking on the role of a ruthless villain.

Starring the Star Wars sequel trilogy's Daisy Ridley in the lead, the film follows a former soldier-turned-window cleaner who gets caught in a deadly hostage situation. Directed by Casino's Royale's Martin Campbell, Cleaner is scheduled for a theatrical release on February 21, 2025, with Quiver Distribution handling its release. Cleaner blends action and suspense as Ridley’s character is thrust into a life-or-death mission with no backup and nowhere to run. Cleaner is produced by Cindy Cowan, known for Red Lights starring Oppenheimer's Cillian Murphy, and the upcoming comedy Pickleheads, featuring What We Do in the Shadows actor Harvey Guillén.

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James Bond star Alan Cumming has revealed the...

In hindsight, it's impossible to imagine anyone but Mark Harmon in the role of gruff "NCIS" boss Leroy Jethro Gibbs. It wasn't exactly a career-reigniting role for the actor, who had already built a legacy on shows like "St. Elsewhere" and "Chicago Hope" before joining the CBS military police procedural's inaugural 2003 season. However, it soon became apparent that Gibbs would be his defining role. Harmon embodied the character in a way that made him the unquestionable centerpiece of the ensemble cast throughout his 19 seasons with the show. He left "NCIS" in 2021, but Gibbs perseveres: In 2024, CBS rolled out the prequel show "NCIS: Origins," with Austin Stowell playing young Gibbs while Harmon narrates, "Young Sheldon"-style.

Knowing Harmon's importance to the "NCIS" franchise, it may be surprising to find out that the people behind the show didn't call his agent the second they conceived the character of Gibbs. In 2023, the makers...

Sam Worthington was on the verge of homelessness when he was awarded the biggest role of his lifetime. Despite being turned away from franchises like DC and James Bond, he had found a home in the otherworldly realm of Pandora in James Cameron’s unique, transcendental, visionary epic, Avatar. But the rejections of the past still bear a mark on Worthington’s career.

Sam Worthington in Avatar [Credit: 20th Century Fox]

Much has been said about the actor’s time as a finalist in the 007 race. Reports about his “self-sabotage” perked up interest and raised some eyebrows among the fans of the franchise who were on the lookout for their next Bond. Among contestants who were equally qualified for the role, Daniel Craig rose as the sure winner.

And though there was much outcry and belligerence among the fans at first, Craig proved himself beyond doubt and not only transformed the...

Exclusive: Sydney-based production company Causeway Films, known for The Babadook, You Won’t Be Alone, Talk To Me, and the upcoming Bring Her Back, has appointed Black Bear’s VP of Film and Television, Sleena Wilson, as Head of Development.

Wilson will relocate from Los Angeles to Sydney for the role and lead development of the company’s expanding slate.

Wilson joins Causeway Films after over five years at Black Bear, during which she oversaw the development of a diverse slate of projects. Most recently, she was part of the producing team behind Oscar nominee Sing Sing, starring Colman Domingo and Clarence Maclin. She was also part of the team behind Monsieur Spade, the eight-part series for AMC and AMC+ starring Clive Owen.

Causeway is in post on A24’s Bring Her Back, which was recently picked up by Sony, and Dario Russo’s The Fox, starring Emily Browning, Jai Courtney,...

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Watson is a medical mystery crime drama series created by Craig Sweeny. Based on the characters by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the CBS series follows Dr. John Watson after Moriarty kills Sherlock Holmes. Watson continues his medical practice in Pittsburg, working with a brilliant team of doctors to diagnose unidentifiable illnesses. Watson stars Morris Chestnut, Eve Harlow, Peter Mark Kendall, Inga Schlingmann, Ritchie Coster, and Rochelle Aytes. So, if you loved the thrilling mysteries, medical drama, and compelling characters in Watson, here are some similar shows you should check out next.

House M.D. Credit – Fox

House M.D. is a medical dark comedy-drama series created by David Shore. The Fox series follows Dr. Gregory House, a misanthropic and cynical man who works with a team of brilliant residents to diagnose even the most difficult illnesses. House M.D. stars Hugh Laurie,...

Some relationships are damned from the very beginning, but they don't usually end as badly as they do for the two main characters in the 2005 crime thriller Derailed. Jennifer Aniston was making her first movie after her ten-year run as Rachel Green in Friends, and Clive Owen was her leading man, having already firmly established his big screen bona fides. Sure, they make for quite the attractive couple, and if you saw them together on the street, you'd do a double-take, but in this film, they are a doomed couple whose problems go from bad to worse with just about every scene. Directed by Mikael Håfström, Derailed is based on the best-selling 2003 novel by James Siegel, whose source material isn't always an easy watch adapted to film. It delivers Aniston in her career's darkest and most vulnerable role. Audiences are accustomed to seeing Owen in gritty and moribund movies like Children of Men,...

Martin Campbell is an underrated action director, well-known for the James Bond movies GoldenEye and Casino Royale, as well as films like The Protege and The Foreigner. Not all of his projects have been critically acclaimed hits -- there was the ill-fated Green Lantern adaptation -- but Campbell certainly understands what makes for good action. This raises expectations for his 2025 thriller Cleaner, starring Daisy Ridley as a terrorist-thwarting everywoman.

Frustratingly, Cleaner winds up being a mixed bag: just good enough to watch, but never reaching the highs of Campbell's other action films. It has an emotional component to its story, and when Star Wars alum Ridley is finally able to show off her action chops during a fight, it is legitimately fun. But the movie takes far too long to let her join in, while other characters scheme, threaten, and negotiate around her situation. This is very much a mid-budget action film,...