Samuel L. Jackson is the box office king but even he has had films that haven’t fared well with critics and audiences. Enter the 2007 drama thriller, Cleaner. The Renny Harlin-directed project stars Jackson as a crime scene cleaner who thinks he has become part of a cover-up. The film also stars Ed Harris, Keke Palmer, and Eva Mendes also star. It flopped at the box office, and critics weren’t the most receptive. But Netflix viewers enjoy it. The movie is currently No. 4 in the streaming giant’s Top 10 list in the U.S.
A 2007 Hollywood Reporter review gives the film a less than stellar rating. “In a noir-tinted role that fits Jackson like a weather-worn glove, he plays Tom Cutler, a retired New Jersey police detective who now makes a living coming in after the cops are done at crime scenes and mopping up the left behind with his own HazMat cleaning business,” it reads.
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Later on, while praising Jackson’s consistency in the film, the storyline isn’t impressive. Other actors’ performances are also given an A for effort, but the storyline falls flat. The review continues: “While Jackson and Harris are well-matched verbal sparring partners, Mendes makes for an ideal contemporary femme fatale, and young Palmer makes good on the promise she showed in “Akeelah and the Bee,” it notes.
Cleaner has an audience score of 40% on Rotten Tomatoes. Other reviews from critics label it as “mediocre,” “low energy,” and overall lackluster. Audiences didn’t run to the theaters. Cleaner earned a little under $6 million by the end of its theatrical run.
Despite Cleaner not being a major success, Harlin has made a long string of great films. Some he’s most known for include A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, Die Hard 2, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and Deep Blue Sea.
