'The Commuter' reviews: Suspense-thriller is fun but forgettable

Promotional image of the movie "The Commuter" from Lionsgate. Official Lionsgate website

The reviews are out for the new movie "The Commuter," which received below-average feedback from critics who generally dismissed the suspense-drama as being fun but also forgettable and underwhelming.

The mystery-drama film, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, received a lukewarm 53 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a site that averages review scores from various entertainment outlets. Here are what some of the reviewers had to say.

Chris Nashawaty from Entertainment Weekly expressed, "The Commuter is the kind of passable potboiler that may satisfy your junk-food sweet tooth on late-night cable a year from now. But in first run at full price, all you'll end up feeling is taken."

Next, Andrea Chase from Killer Movie Reviews stated, "It's all about what you want from a Liam Neeson action flick. That and managing expectations. Will it be great art? Probably not. Will it be fun? Maybe. In this case, it is."

Finally, Jeffrey Lyles from Lyles' Movie Files said, "Picture a less suspenseful, dumber and overall ill-conceived rip-off of Non-Stop and you've got The Commuter. Even Liam Neeson appears underwhelmed."

The story is about an insurance salesman named Michael MacCauley who is a longtime commuter on the train, to and from work. One day, he meets a mysterious woman named Joanna (Vera Farmiga) who bribes him into getting the identity of a passenger on the train. MacCauley unwittingly takes the money but is soon thrust into a criminal conspiracy which catches him by surprise.

He finds himself in a sticky situation where he has to solve the dangerous puzzle set before him by Joanna. If he refuses and returns the money, his life would be in peril, as well as all the passengers on the commuter train.

"The Commuter" is set to premiere on Friday, Jan 12, in theaters nationwide.

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