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The Cleaner

A&E | Release Date: July 15, 2008

CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION

41	METASCORE Mixed or average reviews based on 15 Critic Reviews

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Critic Reviews

Critic score Publication By date

63

Chicago Sun-Times

Misha Davenport

Season 1 Review: Some may take issue with the cynical tone of both series [Saving grace and The Cleaner] or the fact that there is very little divine intervention in either. Read full review

50

Boston Globe

Matthew Gilbert

Season 1 Review: The show is an extremely mixed bag, but he's an extremely likable extreme interventionist. Read full review

50

Newark Star-Ledger

Season 1 Review: It's not a bad show, but the mechanics of how they're going to abduct their latest target are far less engaging than how the team interacts with each other and how each member fights his or her compulsions. Read full review

50

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Season 1 Review: The Cleaner is the latest in a string of unremarkable basic cable dramas with a brand-name star playing the tough but damaged lead. Read full review

50

San Francisco Chronicle

Season 1 Review: It's solid for what it is, despite the worrisome gimmick and sometimes obvious story. Read full review

50

New York Post

Season 1 Review: This brings up the writing, which is strictly discount--and so are the plots, which don't tell us enough in the victims he saves. Read full review

50

Newsday

Season 1 Review: The thing looks stylish, has a nice cast, is well written, and Bratt--scruffy, unkempt, a little more than off-center here--has the requisite intensity for the role. But it also is jarringly slick and borderline seamy; maybe that's just part of the fast world Banks and his cohorts find themselves in, but the tone ultimately robs the show--or at least the pilot--of heart and passion. Read full review

50

The New York Times

Ginia Bellafante

Season 1 Review: You see Mr. Bratt with his goatee and expressions of martyrdom, but you hear the voice of Nancy Reagan. Read full review

37

USA Today

Season 1 Review: It's all meant to be exciting, but like everything else about The Cleaner, it comes across as almost profoundly silly. Read full review

33

Entertainment Weekly

Season 1 Review: I'd describe it as ludicrous, but that might give the impression that it's remotely entertaining. Read full review

30

The Hollywood Reporter

Season 1 Review: Without more skillful dialogue and lively stories, this won't help A&E kick the reality habit. Read full review

30

Salon

Heather Havrilesky

Season 1 Review: If these dorky team-on-the-move scenes look like something out of "Charlie's Angels," the shiftless-druggie scenes in the show's premiere look like they were pulled straight from an "Afterschool Special" about the dangers of snorting heroin. Read full review

30

Variety

Season 1 Review: A&E bet heavily on "The Sopranos" reruns to brand the channel, but its grit and blue language notwithstanding, The Cleaner doesn't represent the kind of hour destined to build on that foundation. Read full review

30

Orlando Sentinel

Season 1 Review: Despite a fine cast and a harrowing topic, The Cleaner rarely gets beyond the surfaces. Read full review

30

Washington Post

Season 1 Review: It's the end of the hour, and we're still waiting for the real show to begin, too. Read full review

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