Code Name: The Cleaner
New Line Cinema | Release Date: January 5, 2007 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
33
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
0
Mixed:
11
Negative:
7
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Los Angeles TimesMichael Ordona
Offers no surprises but is good-natured and funny. It's mercifully devoid of car chases, although it does have a truly inane gunfight -- did any of these trained killers ever hear of target practice? -- and some out-of-left-field martial arts. Read full review
58
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
The movie finally comes to life when Liu turns up. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The problem is, while the thriller aspects of the movie are serviceable, they aren't good enough to form the basis of anything more serious than a sit-com, and by spending as much time on them as Code Name: The Cleaner does, it makes the film at times seem drawn-out and tedious. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerBill White
Gets entertaining when Liu kicks in. Read full review
50
The New York TimesNeil Genzlinger
Cedric the Entertainer's artless performance deadens what could have been a much funnier comedy. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
The humor is too adult for children and the plot far too childish for most adults; in fact, everything about the film is really too silly to warrant much consideration. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
Although the finished product isn't great, it's more akin to a bad Steve Martin movie from the 1980s than bad Pauly Shore from the 1990s. We mean that as a compliment (sort of). Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
This implausible plot full of holes does pave the way for a series of Cedric the Entertainer skits and physical gags. None of these is very funny. A few are painfully unfunny. In either case, the movie comes to a standstill. It's a pity no one thought to screen old Bob Hope movies to see how to integrate comedy into genre filmmaking. Read full review
40
VarietyBrian Lowry
This is an especially limp star vehicle that delivers a few widely spaced moments of frivolity before what should be a quick mop-up trip to the DVD aisles. Read full review
40
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
Aside from Cedric's admittedly appealing persona -- he's always watchable, even in dreck like this -- there's absolutely nothing to recommend The Cleaner. Read full review
40
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Never really generates any serious laughs. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle Smith
Isn't as bad as you'd think, but this comic mash-up of "The Bourne Identity" and "Fat Albert" doesn't have much heft. Read full review
38
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
How do films this stale and generic continue to get made, let alone with topflight talent? Cedric has been stealing scenes from bigger names for nearly a decade; he deserves better than a few amusingly-improvised minutes at the end of his own movie. And so do we. Read full review
25
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
It's another standard-issue bad star-vehicle action-comedy, this time for Cedric. Read full review
25
Entertainment WeeklyGregory Kirschling
Get Lucy Liu better roles! Read full review
20
L.A. WeeklyLuke Y. Thompson
Cedric gets some help from a butt-kicking babe (Lucy Liu) who may or may not be his girlfriend, and if you believe this pairing could plausibly happen, you might be gullible enough to buy a ticket to this movie. Read full review
10
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
I humbly submit that Cedric the Entertainer be required to give up the "Entertainer" portion of his nom de plume until he actually starts entertaining us. Read full review
0
Austin ChronicleToddy Burton
The most poignant point in the whole painful endeavor is when the credits roll. It's here that we see the outtakes and watch Cedric riffing as he improvs variations on his dialogue. These outtakes are genuinely funny, standing as reminders that the last 90 minutes were a sad waste of talent. Read full review
More From This Movie

33 Critic Reviews

4.4 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL