Welcome to The Clean Up Crew, a film that tries its best to blend slapstick humor with the grit of a crime thriller but ends up being more of a clumsy mashup than a clever cocktail. Imagine Hot Fuzz collided head-on with a Quentin Tarantino wannabe and they both spilled their guts—literally and figuratively—onto the screen. Directed by Jon Keeyes, this movie delivers gore and giggles, but with more misses than hits.
Let’s start with the good. The film’s premise is intriguing, at least on paper. The idea of crime-scene cleaners accidentally getting involved in the very crimes they’re supposed to clean up is novel, providing a fertile ground for dark comedy. The cast, featuring the likes of Antonio Banderas, Melissa Leo, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, all seem to have fun with their roles. Banderas, in particular, hams it up as a crazed gang boss, embracing the opportunity to go way over the top. He’s like a Machiavellian professor on too much caffeine, spouting philosophy while orchestrating his criminal empire.
The pace of the film is another plus. It’s brisk, with Keeyes ensuring that the action never lags. The scenes flow from one chaotic moment to the next, with enough blood splatter and gunfire to keep fans of the genre entertained. The film also doesn’t shy away from violence, delivering some pretty gnarly sequences that will satisfy those with a taste for the grotesque. But then we come to the not-so-great parts. The Clean Up Crew suffers from a severe identity crisis. It wants to be a dark comedy, a crime thriller, and a satirical commentary all at once, but it doesn’t quite succeed at any of these. The humor often feels forced, with jokes that land awkwardly more often than not. The film’s tone swings wildly from absurdity to grim seriousness, making it difficult to figure out how you’re supposed to feel at any given moment.
The plot, while initially engaging, becomes increasingly convoluted as the movie progresses. What starts as a straightforward story about stolen money quickly spirals into a tangled mess of double-crosses, betrayals and sudden character shifts that are hard to keep track of. By the time the final act rolls around, you might find yourself more confused than entertained, wondering how things got so out of hand. The characters, though well-acted, are mostly caricatures. Banderas’s gang boss is amusing but one-note, while the titular clean-up crew members are a mishmash of quirks with little depth. Melissa Leo’s character is particularly underdeveloped, reduced to spouting tough-gal lines without much substance behind them. It’s a shame, considering the talent involved, that the script doesn’t give them more to work with.
As for the direction, Keeyes handles the action well enough, but the film’s stylistic choices feel derivative rather than original. The movie borrows heavily from better films in the genre, but without adding much of its own flavor. It’s as if the filmmakers threw a bunch of influences into a blender, hit “purée,” and hoped for the best. The result is watchable, sure, but not particularly memorable.
In the end, The Clean Up Crew is a mixed bag. It’s a film that tries hard to entertain and occasionally succeeds, but more often than not, it feels like a missed opportunity. The premise and cast had the potential for something truly special, but the execution was too uneven to deliver on that promise fully. If you’re in the mood for a bit of silly, gory fun, it might be worth a watch. Just don’t expect it to leave a lasting impression.
Would I recommend The Clean Up Crew? If you’ve got a soft spot for campy crime comedies and don’t mind a few misfires along the way, then sure—give it a go. But if you’re looking for something more polished or groundbreaking, you might want to keep looking. The crew might be cleaning up crime scenes, but unfortunately, they couldn’t quite clean up the mess that is in this movie.
Final Score- [4/10]
Reviewed by - Anjali Sharma
Follow @AnjaliS54769166 on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times