Movies: Rip-Roaring Action In Liam Neeson’s Latest Movie “The Commuter”

 

Liam Neeson and director Jaume Collet-Serra team up once again after an enviable track record with Non-Stop amassing $222.8m worldwide in 2014 and Unknown’s $130.8m in 2011, so teaming up again for another thrill ride in the latest action thriller “The Commuter” set on a train in New York,
was a no-brainer.

“The Commuter” takes the audience out of the main location of the train to the outside world into the main character’s family home and into the office and bars: part of Michael’s (Neeson) daily routine. An ordinary day turns extraordinary when Michael gets on the train after his last day in the office,  ready to face his family and admit that he has been fired and the family faces bankruptcy. Into the seat opposite him slides a woman, who is not one of the regular commuters Michael knows to nod hello to. She introduces herself to him as Joanna, played by Vera Farmiga, and before very long makes him a strange offer: something of hers has been stolen from her on the train and she needs help finding it. If he agrees to help, he’ll be richly compensated.

One of the crucial elements to cranking up the excitement of the film are the fight scenes. Stunt and fight co-ordinator Mark Vanselow has worked 16 times with Neeson so has perfected a succinct shorthand while training the actor which, according to producer Andrew Rona, has meant “there’s a real level of trust and we were able to push the boundaries of the stunt work and the jeopardy that we put him in because Liam completely has trust and faith in the filmmaking team”.

Movies: Liam Neeson Stars In Latest Jampacked Action Movie “The Commuter”

Following the worldwide success of “Unknown,” “Non-Stop” and “Run All Night,” Liam Neeson known as the man with a particular set of skills stars in the explosive thriller “The Commuter.”  The movie is Neeson’s fourth collaboration with director Jaume Collet-Serra about one man‘s frantic quest to prevent disaster on a packed commuter train.

The screenplay proved irresistible to both the director and star, not just for the bravura of the action and the thrill of the suspense but for the moral conundrum the protagonist is faced with and the consequences it has on him, the passengers on the train and his family at home.

“The Commuter asks the audience, if someone asked you to do something that seems insignificant but you’re not sure of the outcome in exchange for a considerable financial reward, would you do it?” says Jaume Collet-Serra. “That‘s the philosophical choice that our central character - a man of 60 who’s just been fired, has no savings and is mortgaged to the hilt - is faced with. Is he thinking just about himself or is he going to take into consideration the possible moral consequences of what he’s asked to do? That’s the question we want the audience to ask themselves.”