Clean

Adrien Brody and Glenn Fleshler are both great actors and this movie is no exception but aside from the acting the story was very simple and almost boring, it's no wonder they shelved the movie for over a year. I was not invested in any of the characters and the "brooding" narration that Brody does throughout the film is supposed to resonate with the audience but honestly it does nothing. The final showdown was cheap and by that I mean it looked and felt underwelming and under financed. The movie overall just felt so cookie cutter that by the end I was almost glad it was over since the build outweighed the conclusion. The only selling points were the location, the atmosphere and the aformentioned acting. Sorry but there is no need to rewatch this. Had potential but just disappointing.

5/10.

I must admit that I was actually looking forward to getting to watch the 2021 action crime drama "Clean" from writers Paul Solet and Adrien Brody. Why? Well, because the movie starred Adrien Brody, and he is usually always good in movies.

However, I have to admit that "Clean" was somewhat of a mediocre movie. The storyline, while it was indeed adequate enough, just hadn't enough leverage or punch to make it stand out among countless other action crime movies. So yeah, "Clean" was somewhat of a mediocre movie experience. Watchable, for sure, but a rather monotonous and bland movie actually.

First of all, the majority of the music in the movie was just not interesting at all, and actually was somewhat of a deterring factor for me, as I just absolutely loathe that particular genre of music.

The characters in the movie were lacking depths. They simply came off as being way too superficial, and the audience never really get to delve into the movie and the characters as needed, because the layering of the narrative was lacking majorly.

The acting performances in "Clean" were okay, taking into consideration that the script wasn't particularly thrilling or entertaining. And truth be told, then "Clean" is far from being up to the usual performance that you would get from Adrien Brody.

"Clean" is good enough for a single viewing, but that is essentially also all it has to offer. It is a very forgettable movie actually, and I doubt that come next week then I will still be recalling this movie.

My rating of "Clean" lands on a very bland five out of ten stars.

The storyline is not new, but tried and true. It could've been a good movie, maybe even a great one. The actors do their jobs, and the cinematography is sufficiently bleak. The ingredients for a good redemption story are all there, so what happened?

It's the small things that add up. The viewer is pulled out of the story with WFT moments. It's the number of these moments that spoil the film. Style over substance is never going to work, it's distracting. The constant exposition of why Clean feels dirty is excessive, we understand his motivation. You don't need to hit us over the head with a monkey wrench, we get it.

It's a misfire, style over substance.

I wouldn't pay too much attention to the extremely negative reviews for this movie, nor the extremely positive. Clean isn't that bad, nor is it an Oscar winning movie. It is entertaining though, and that's what it's all about for me. The story is well told, even though I think the flashbacks the main character has could have been done better. It's rather slow paced in the first half but towards the end it's all getting more interesting with some good action scenes. Adrien Brody is always convincing when he's playing his characters and in Clean he did a good job again. This role fitted him well. The rest of the cast was also convincing so I really don't get what people disliked about it. It's not a movie for everyone, you just need to like that kind of stories, crime/dramas turning into violence, and that's fine by me.

Yes it's not a new story, man wanting quiet life after being a killer, thusly returning to his graphic nature. However it is slow for a reason, it's Brody he's a proper actor, not an all action hero, he wants to convey reason and not just show up basically having a tantrum over some injustice. The middle section is padded as are all these type of films, what do the critics expect? All out reflection or all out war? It's a better than most big budget movies and kills an easy hour and thirty, with not having to ponder over where the movie will go.