The Commuter
Lionsgate | Release Date: January 12, 2018 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 44 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
22
Negative:
3
Watch Now
Stream On
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Total FilmNeil SmithJan 18, 2018
A solid if far-fetched thriller that still entertains, even as it goes off the rails. Read full review
60
UproxxMike RyanJan 17, 2018
Most of The Commuter is a pretty fun ride. Read full review
60
EmpireDavid HughesJan 16, 2018
A sub-Hitchcockian thriller with enough forward momentum to thunder over its many plot holes, The Commuter is a surprisingly enjoyable if instantly forgettable crowd-pleaser that takes the audience for a ride — in more ways than one. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJan 12, 2018
Yet the nonsense content, being pure, is liberating, and allows us to savor all the machinery as machinery: the train, the plot, the pitch-imperfect dialogue, the huffing-puffing fights, the ridiculous stunts and, yes, the climactic train wreck. Here’s how filmmakers can fill screens when they don’t have a film to make. Read full review
60
New York Magazine (Vulture)Emily YoshidaJan 12, 2018
This isn’t to say that the humans in The Commuter act anything like real people; the train is the most realistic performer here, but you could do a lot worse. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzJan 11, 2018
The Commuter doesn’t stand above or below most of Neeson’s action-hero fare. But you dependably get what you pay for. Read full review
60
The GuardianSteve RoseJan 10, 2018
Perhaps you can’t ask too much from a modest, mid-range crowd-pleaser like this, but the experience ends up something like a commuter service itself: you know where it’s going and it gets you there perfectly well, but in a few years’ time you’d be hard pressed to distinguish it from dozens of similar journeys. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe DziemianowiczJan 10, 2018
As it speeds along, the film delivers its share of popcorn-style entertainment, curves and thrills. But it stalls due to plot holes and murky storytelling, willful inaccuracies (like an invented Upper East side train station), wasted talent and conductor’s cap tips to better railway-based movies like “Strangers on a Train,” “The Fugitive” and “Unstoppable.” Read full review
60
VarietyGuy LodgeDec 29, 2017
The Commuter’s breakneck incoherence — not to mention a generally dour demeanor, shorter on incidental humor than most of the helmer’s work — makes it a notch less fun than those previous ex-trash-aganzas. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyJan 15, 2018
Peppered with implausibilities and foul-smelling red herrings, The Commuter downshifts from a solid cat-and-mouse joyride to a ridiculous howler, insulting its audience’s patience and intelligence at every turn. Read full review
55
IGNScott ColluraJan 11, 2018
Liam Neeson is back with The Commuter, though viewers may wind up wishing they bought a ticket to a different train. Read full review
50
ObserverRex ReedJan 16, 2018
The whole thing has a certain “been there already” deja vu that dilutes the movie’s intended wow factor. Everything else in The Commuter is a yawn. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJan 12, 2018
The Commuter falls into line with Neeson’s other high-octane, low-intelligence efforts and part of the reason it works (to the degree that it works) is because of the sincerity with which the actor attacks the part. Read full review
50
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallJan 11, 2018
It takes too long for The Commuter to build a head of steam but it’s medium speed ahead after that. Read full review
50
The Associated PressJake CoyleJan 11, 2018
Collet-Serra’s genre mechanics, stylized and sober, are efficient. His trains run on time, even if — especially in The Commuter — a rush-hour’s worth of implausibility eventually wrecks the thrill. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comMatt Zoller SeitzJan 11, 2018
Frustratingly not-quite-there from start to finish. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerJan 10, 2018
The Commuter is exactly the kind of post-"Taken" aging-action-star part that Neeson could do in his sleep, and while he’s not exactly dozing through the script, it lacks his normal grizzled fire and drive. Read full review
50
Screen DailySarah WardDec 29, 2017
What The Commuter lacks in nuance, depth, surprises, logic and serviceable dialogue...it can’t make up for in its effective single-location tension or well-choreographed action, though both rank among the film’s modest highlights. Read full review
50
IndieWireDavid EhrlichDec 29, 2017
This may be a forgettable movie about the forgotten man — a blue-collar morality play disguised as a very contrived hostage crisis — but at least it’s shlock with something on its mind. Read full review
40
SlateSam AdamsJan 12, 2018
The Commuter has nothing so heady as the plight of the forgotten man on its mind. The movie, whose screenplay is credited to Byron Willinger, Philip de Blasi, and Ryan Engle, is flagrantly, even willfully silly, juiced with such corny audacity it frequently made me laugh out loud. Read full review
40
The New York TimesA.O. ScottJan 11, 2018
It’s not even very good as a genre exercise, and can’t always keep track of which genre muscles it wants to flex. For a while it’s a locked-room mystery. Then it’s a runaway-train thriller. Read full review
40
Time OutTrevor JohnstonJan 10, 2018
It’s a zingy set-up but just as quickly, it hits the skids. Read full review
More From This Movie

56 Critic Reviews

6.4 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 77 Project Hail Mary
2 75 Send Help
3 73 Hoppers
4 71 The Sheep Detectives
5 68 Crime 101
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL