Film Reviews & Movie Analysis

When a crime scene cleanup crew discovers a briefcase full of money, they are unwittingly sent into a battle with a ruthless and corrupt crime boss, mobsters, hitmen, and corrupt government agents who are hell-bent on getting it back.

Despite the unique hook of involving a crime clean-up crew in a “found money” plot, this movie unfolds exactly as you’d imagine.

No-nonsense Siobhan (Melissa Leo) runs The Good Life Cleaners and keeps her miserable band of cleaners in check: loose cannon Chuck (Swen Temmel), the constantly swearing Alex (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), and his future-obsessed girlfriend Meagan (Ekaterina Baker). The money they discover on a job belongs to the local, Machiavelli-quoting crime boss Gabriel (Antonio Banderas).

Infighting, flying bullets, kidnapping, betrayal, and distrust are the hallmarks of The Clean Up Crew, but one thing lets the movie down, and that’s the dynamic of The Good Life cleaning crew.

We understand that Alex and Meagan are a couple, but we are left with giant question marks about their relationship with Siobhan and Chuck. Sometimes Siobhan felt like a colleague, other times like an old family friend. Chuck goes from being an unreliable addict to the only one with a level head when shit hits the fan. Meanwhile, in a completely opposing parallel, Alex, who at the start of the film is the leader, reverts to being scared and unsure when things get serious.

A character we completely understand is Gabriel, the crime boss whose money was stolen by The Good Life Cleaners. Everything from his mannerisms to his penchant for quoting Machiavelli to his obsession with Russian Roulette became a comforting familiarity among the constant changes in the other key characters.

A high and low for this film is that the main events take place within 24 hours. It doesn’t necessarily work in the movie’s favor because there is little time for the characters to develop, especially within a running time of 90 minutes. We miss the slow, individual change that typically overcomes each character with the poisonous allure of a life-changing sum of money. We miss the nuance of Alex going from alpha to beta to badass, and Chuck going from addict to alpha, which is why their changing characteristics feel so jarring. On the other hand, having events take place over a day means that the movie is very well-paced.

There is one element of The Clean Up Crew that provides some much-needed stability right from the start, and that is the zippy, plucky, comedic notes of the soundtrack and sound design, which automatically set the tone for the film. The melodies were reminiscent of something you’d hear in a Guy Ritchie movie, mixed with a solitary ringing note that felt plucked right out of Peaky Blinders. The soundtrack guided us through character introductions, plot twists, and thrilling action sequences right until the movie faded to black.

The Clean Up Crew is an okay watch. Antonio Banderas shines as crime boss Gabriel, and although the film might not leave you with any surprises plot-wise, it will at least leave you with a curiosity for Machiavelli.