It is rather rare to find characters of crime thrillers being cleaners but the few that show up are very funny for the most part, people who have to clear the mess that others make. That is something that “The Clean Up Crew” emphasis the most on been a funny action movie, this upcoming film is a roller coaster with a bunch of normal people who wake up one day to a new reality, it tells the story about several workers of the crime scene clean up company who discover a briefcase full of money during their work which should not be extraordinary job for them turning it into one of their best days or at least temporarily. However, as everyone should be aware, in the process of criminal activities, nothing is that easy or plain.
This money is discovered by the characters and sets a series of events that thrust our heroes into the world of mafia but this time around as the target, assassins and corrupt policemen will be after them. It is a concept that instantly sparks action scene on everyone brain, which helps to provide a dopamine rush on the audience, a great way to wake them up but the problem is that now the film has to keep up with every action scene been better than the previous one. The main cast of the movie consists of such experienced actors as Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Antonio Banderas, and Melissa Leo, with Antonio they already hit it as we have seen him before playing the funny, ruthless, villain role. My expectations are a good one time watch as I call it, there is not much information about this film but you got a great cast with well known and bulletproof main cast, I can easily see that there will be nothing special about this film in terms of showing us something new to the heist sub genre but what interest me the most is how the cast is going to perform, heist concept is great add comedy and a good cast and you got a good movie as long as script and production goes along without been the greatest of all time.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21614558/
- Platform: Select Theaters
- Release: August 20, 2024
More Than Meets the Eye
On the surface, this film’s storyline may appear to be rather linear with a team of individuals who only get to clear crime scenes stumbles into a large sum of money, but it is the sequel of the events that has differentiates this story from others, or at least that how it is describe online, many review sites making note of the fact that will make it different than others but again that we will confirm latter on. This decision of the crew to keep the cash drags them into a world they have only witnessed the consequences of, just one day they are not only clearing up after crimes, they are right in the middle of the action.In a sense reminds me of Statham movies where everyone wants to kill him at the same time, having some times an entire squad after him. The main characters have to deal with numerous dangers. You have a villainous mafia don who wants his money, paid killers who want to ensure the job is done right, and even some corrupt officers of the law who are after the money. Even though the premise seems to suggest a movie packed with entertaining action scenes, this film is much more than some car chases and gun battles. Many will argue if the movie has other message like we have seen on heist movies where greedy takes over the characters but it seems like this time around is backwards, this guys found something they were not looking for and for reasons that escape from their will they became the target, yes they can just give up the money but they still witness, the more people find out about it the more they get deeper involucrated with the money. The film appears to deal with some more issues more so the ethical issues that accompany the lives of average citizens when presented with large amounts of money, it is probably going to raise issues to do with betrayal, trust, and what individuals will do for a certain price when cornered.
The Cast: A Powerhouse Ensemble
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Currently, Rhys Meyers is known for his profound acting and a talent to play a multifaceted character, which makes him suitable for this films’ genre. As to what his part is exactly, I can easily imagine him as one of those cleaners, a man suddenly finding himself in a deadly position, which adds more heft and seriousness to the character, but form him action is nothing new for him as I remember him the most from packed action TV series like "Vikings" and "The Tudors", a great performance is almost a done deal.
Antonio Banderas
Banderas also fits well in the movie because he has lots of experience in the action thrillers, specially as the silly villain. He has the air of a crime lord but he may also be a compromised cop on the wrong side, any of the two cases he is a well season actor, prove of this are productions where he has been the main villain like "Uncharted (2022)" and "Assassins (1995)".
Melissa Leo
An Oscar winning actress who has delivered strong and credible performances in the past, Leo’s addition to the cast implies that the movie will offer some genuine drama, or at least she might lead that side of the film. Either she will be performing the role of a member of the cleanup crew.
Behind the Scenes
We have Jon Keeyes as director, who has about 22 years of experience in film making. Keeyes is well known for his thriller and horror movies, although he has been transitioning to action thriller movies of greater size recently with a couple of movies I personally watch recently The Kill Room, Reverse the Curse, both this year been ok one time watch movies that I enjoy.
Filmed in Ireland, the shooting came to a halt in August 2022, this location choice could prove to be rather useful and bring a certain mood into the story, which would be rather very European environment both weather and scenery. The cinematography that is to be done by Austin F. Schmidt is also supposed to reflect the tension and the sense of danger that the crew is in as they go through their dangerous confrontations.
Themes and Potential Messages
In its simplest form, the film is a commentary on how far humans can go for certain sums of cash, this discovery of wealth by those who work in menial jobs that go unnoticed is rather a beautiful irony in the society that has deep differences between the classes, they probably get well paid but never the amounts the find. There is also the idea of corruption and power with the members of the government who are not quite as clean as they should be get involved in the story, this element highlights on the vices of corruption and abuse of power in society and therefore gives a negative perception of power. The film also has some shades of grey when it comes to morality as the crew takes the money knowing well that it is probably blood money. One that I think about the most is whether it is possible to escape from the cycle of violence once it has been initiated, how would you make it out without having to kill everyone that come after you.
This ideas are just to put in perspective how the movie might develop although I don't see this movie flooded with indirect messages, type of woke movie, none of the actors or director seem to have this inclination so any social commentary other than the more classic and traditional will disturb the course of the movie.
What Sets It Apart
If we ask this question, what sets this movie apart? well the fact that the focus is towards the end of the criminal lather been the ones at the bottom the main event makes a difference as they now have to learn and go through certain events and take decisions they have never had to before.Comes to mind the 2007 film “Cleaner” with Samuel L. Jackson also develops around the crime scene cleaning but with a different approach. In ‘Cleaner’ Jackson plays the role of a former police officer who finds himself in the middle of a cover up without knowing it, which gives the movie an element of intrigue.
I find it is always unwise to get carried away with upcoming movies, I prefer to know my enemy before hand, I mean learn a bit more about it before watch it. Now days time is a valuable asset and sitting down two hours to start watching something you wont enjoy and lets you down can ruin your afternoon, it has happen to me many times and its the main reason I do this "preview" post, none the less I think The Clean Up Crew (2024) will be a movie worth watching to have a good time.
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