History Film / TheCommuter

* IHaveThisFriend: Michael's search for Prynne eventually leads to him sitting down with Tony and Jackson and using this to provide an outline of the situation, asking what they'd do partially to test their reactions and partially to see what they'd say.

* LeaveNoWitnesses: [[spoiler:After she loses her patience with Michael, Joanna coldly declares that "Now ''everyone'' dies" and ends the call. She's alluding to TheConspiracy rigging a bomb in the train's cab to explode (and disable all its brakes) if anyone tried to activate the emergency brakes--dooming the train to derail wherever the next curve is and supposedly signing the death warrants of everyone aboard.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:The FBI agent's shifty attitude leads to Michael believing he's Prynne, leading to Oliver murdering him.]]

** Gwen is seen being given something by her boyfriend that she's reluctant to take onboard, and generally seems a little nervous afterwards. [[spoiler:They're just fake IDs that he wanted brought out to college, as he was too cowardly to take them himself.]]

* ScaryBlackMan: [[spoiler:Oliver seems like an aversion of this at first since he's sympathetic to Michael's plight... before he's revealed as the conspirator who killed the FBI agent guarding Prynne.]]

* TakingAThirdOption: A hypothetical example. After Michael's IHaveThisFriend speech, Jackson says that if he were the guy, he'd take the money and try to find Prynne--but warn them to get off at the next stop and pretend he'd come up empty.

* VertigoEffect: When Michael opens the letter and finds [[spoiler:his wife's ring, letting him know that his family's now in danger.]]

* WhamLine: [[spoiler:Murphy's reveal as an AffablyEvil DirtyCop starts when he says "Mike, I ''get it''—you wanna do the noble thing here, but I got ''news'' for you! There ain't no such thing as noble." See INeverSaidItWasPoison for the context.]]

* DirtyCop: [[spoiler:There's a faction of corrupt cops who are part of the conspiracy. Murphy is one of them, and Captain Hawthorne mentions he's been under investigation already for it.]]

* EvilPlan: [[spoiler:The conspirators are out to murder Prynne and steal a hard drive of evidence implicating countless corrupt officials.]]

* EvilPlan: [[spoiler:The conspirators are out to murder Prynne and steal a hard drive of evidence implicating countless officials within their ranks.]]
* FauxAffablyEvil: Joanna's initial politeness to Michael ''quickly'' goes out the window to reveal the heartless mastermind she is.

* TheHeavy: Joanna's the BigBad, [[spoiler:but she's subservient to "very powerful people."]]

* LeaveNoWitnesses: [[spoiler:After she fails to have Michael follow her orders for the last time, Joanna coldly declares "Now ''everyone'' dies" and ends the call. She's alluding to TheConspiracy rigging a bomb in the train's cab to explode (and disable all its brakes) if anyone tried to activate the emergency brakes--dooming the train to derail at wherever the next curve is and supposedly signing the death warrants of everyone aboard.]]

** [[spoiler:Prynne's a 16-year-old girl named Sofia, and she witnessed two cops shoving Enrique Mendez (her cousin) to his death after he refused to give them a hard drive implicating countless corrupt officials. She got away with the drive and was told by FBI Agent Garcia to take the 6:25 PM train to Cold Spring--which Michael rides daily to get home from work. On that note...]]
** [[spoiler:Det. Lt. Alex Murphy is Enrique's murderer, and he told his higher-ups (with Joanna being among them) to make sure Sofia was specifically on ''Michael's'' train.]]
* SacrificialLamb: [[spoiler:Walt's pushed in front of a transit bus by another conspirator as a warning to Michael while Joanna's calling him.]]

* BigBadFriend: [[spoiler:After a slip of the tongue, Alex is outed as Enrique's killer and responsible for Sofia's presence on Michael's train, but he did it to help with his now-former friend's money problems--[[EvilCannotComprehendGood mistakenly believing he'd "just do what she asked."]]]]

** After [[spoiler:masterminding Walt's murder]] as a show of force, Joanna warns Michael that "[she] can get to anyone anywhere," including his family.
** [[spoiler:Murphy mentions TheConspiracy having "eyes everywhere," including ''within the FBI''.]]
* WhamLine: [[spoiler:Murphy's reveal as an AffablyEvil DirtyCop starts when he says "Mike, I ''get it''—you wanna do the noble thing here, but I got ''news'' for you! There ain't no such thing as noble."]]

* WhamLine: [[spoiler:"Mike, I ''get it''—you wanna do the noble thing here, but I got ''news'' for you! There ain't no such thing as noble."]]

* LeaveNoWitnesses: [[spoiler:After she fails to have Michael follow her orders for the last time, Joanna coldly declares "Now ''everyone'' dies" and ends the call. She's alluding to TheConspiracy having rigged a bomb in the train's cab to explode (and disable all its brakes) if anyone tried to activate the emergency brakes--dooming the train to derail at the next curve in the tracks along with.]]

Michael [=MacCauley=], an Irish-American NYPD member turned insurance agent who returns home by train, is offered a total $100,000 by a woman named Joanna if he helps her identify a hidden passenger. The man takes the first $25,000--after which he realizes that he is the victim of a massive conspiracy.

* INeverSaidItWasPoison: [[spoiler:Minutes after Sofia (a.k.a. Prynne) reveals how Enrique's killer said "doing the right thing will get you killed, and that there's no such thing as being noble," Murphy has ominous words to say about Michael's misfortunes...]]

* GoodTimesMontage: The everyday routines of Michael and his family over a period of months take up the film's first five minutes, showing their idyllic (if ordinary) life that the plot threatens to overturn.
* GoryDiscretionShot: We don't get to see the gory details of [[spoiler:Oliver]] being run over by a train.

* HeKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler:The reason Prynne (the witness to a murder) is being targeted.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Sam dies while he's helping Michael unhook the last car from the rest of the train before it derails.]]

** Jackson, one of the passengers, is played by Roland Møller (who often plays villains), so he looks like he is a member of the conspiracy. [[spoiler:He's ultimately a NiceGuy willing to give his life to protect Prynne after it's revealed out she is a scared teenage girl.]]

** Vince seems to be Prynne, [[spoiler: but he switched seats with the ''real'' Prynne.]]

* RetiredBadass: Michael used to be a detective with the NYPD, and he uses his old skills throughout in the film. [[spoiler:It turns out he was chosen by TheConspiracy specifically for that reason. The film's epilogue sees him comes out of retirement--tracking Joanna down and preparing to participate in her arrest once her train arrives in Chicago.]]

** [[spoiler:Prynne's a 16-year-old girl named Sofia, and she witnessed two cops shoving Enrique Mendez (her cousin) to his death after he refused to give them a hard drive implicating countless corrupt officials. She got away with the drive before being told by FBI Agent Garcia to take the 6:25 PM train to Cold Spring--which Michael just so happened to board. On that note...]]

* WhamLine: [[spoiler:"Mike, I ''get it''—you wanna do the noble thing here, but I got''news'' for you! There ain't no such thing as noble."]]

-->[[spoiler:'''Murphy:''' [[WhamLine Mike, I ''get it''--you wanna do the noble thing here, but I got ''news'' for you! There ain't no such thing as noble.]]]]

* LeaveNoWitnesses: [[spoiler:After she fails to have Michael follow her orders for the last time, Joanna coldly declares "Now ''everyone'' dies" and ends the call. She's alluding to TheConspiracy having rigged a bomb in the train's cab to explode (and disable all its brakes) if anyone tried to activate the emergency brakes--dooming the train to derail at the next curve in the tracks.]]

** Joanna
* WhamLine: [[spoiler:Shortly after Sofia (a.k.a. Prynne) explains that Enrique's killer said "doing the right thing will get you killed, and that there's no such thing as being noble," Murphy had an... ominous choice of words about Michael's situation.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Murphy:'''

* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:Murphy is polite despite being part of TheConspiracy, and his role in setting Michael up was not out of malice, but a genuine (if horribly misguided and morally bankrupt) desire to help him.]]

* BigBadFriend: [[spoiler:After a slip of the tongue, Alex is outed as Enrique's killer and the person responsible for Sofia's presence on Michael's train, but he did it to help with his now-former friend's money problems--[[EvilCannotComprehendGood mistakenly believing he'd "just do what she asked."]]]]

* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler:Joanna and Murphy describe their unseen employers as "powerful people," with the former adding how [[TheUnfettered they're willing to do what they must to protect themselves]].]]
* TheHeavy: Joanna may be the film's BigBad, [[spoiler:but she answers to "very powerful people."]]

** [[spoiler:Prynne's a 16-year-old girl named Sofia, and she witnessed two cops shoving Enrique Mendez (her cousin) to his death after he refused to give them a hard drive implicating countless corrupt officials. She got away with the drive in question before being instructed by FBI Agent Garcia to take the train to Cold Spring--which Michael happened to be aboard. Speaking of which...]]

* VertigoEffect: When Michael opens the letter and finds [[spoiler:his wife's ring, letting him know that his family is in danger.]]

* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler:Joanna and Murphy describe their unseen employers as "powerful people," with the former adding how [[TheUnfettered they're willing to do whatever they must to protect themselves]].]]

** [[spoiler:Shortly after his villainous reveal, Murphy mentions "[he's] got a family too," possibly indicating that Joanna had Murphy's family held hostage as well.]]

* LeaveNoWitnesses: [[spoiler:After she fails to have Michael follow her orders for the last time, Joanna coldly declares "Now ''everyone'' dies" and ends the call. Minutes later, it's revealed that she's alluding to how TheConspiracy rigged a bomb in the train's cab to explode if anyone tried to activate the emergency brakes--disabling ''all of the brakes'' and dooming the train to derail at wherever the next curve in the tracks is.]]

* TheUnfettered: Joanna doesn't care who has to be hurt or threatened to make sure [[spoiler:Prynne dies and the evidence she has doesn't get out. She also describes her employers

* LovableCoward: Rarely sticking out his neck, Jimmy is a friendly guy overall who never lies about his lack of bravery and provides some humor to tense scenes.

** [[spoiler:Prynne's a 16-year-old girl named Sofia, and she witnessed two cops shoving Enrique Mendez (her cousin) to his death after he refused hand over a hard drive implicating countless corrupt officials. She got away with her life and the drive in question, after which she was instructed by FBI Agent Garcia to take Michael's train to Cold Spring.]]
** [[spoiler:Det. Lt. Alex Murphy is Enrique's murderer, and he told his higher-ups (with Joanna being among them) to make sure Sofia was on that train specifically.]]

* BigBad: Joanna is the main threat, orchestrating the EvilPlan [[spoiler:against Prynne on behalf of [[GreaterScopeVillain "very powerful people."]]]]
* BigBadFriend: [[spoiler:After a slip of the tongue, Alex is outed as Enrique's killer and the person responsible for Sofia's presence on Michael's train, but he did it to help with his now-former friend's money problems--mistakenly believing he'd "just do what she asked."]]
* BottleEpisode: Except for the prologue and the epilogue, most of the movie's event take place aboard the Hudson Line train that Michael's on.
* ChekhovsNews: Enrique Mendez's suicide is reported early on.

* FauxAffablyEvil: In contrast with [[spoiler:Murphy, who's AffablyEvil]], Joanna is initially polite to Michael before the film's progression continuously proves she's a ruthless monster willing to murder innocent people.
* GoodTimesMontage: The everyday routines of Michael and his family over a period of months takes up the first five minutes of the film, showing their idyllic (if ordinary) life that the plot of the film threatens to overturn.

* GreaterScopeVillain: [[spoiler:Joanna and Murphy mention that their unseen employers are "powerful people."]]
* TheHeavy: Joanna may be the film's BigBad, [[spoiler:but not too long before its climax, she reveals that she's an employee of "very powerful people" willing to do whatever they must to protect themselves.]]

* IHaveYourWife: Joanna tries to coerce Michael into doing her bidding by [[spoiler:having three of her employees hold his wife and his son hostage--threatening to order their murders if he doesn't play along with her demands. Despite the threat, he refuses to murder an innocent person, and they're rescued by the FBI.]]

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Captain Hawthorne initially acts like such a jerk that he's even suggested to be a DirtyCop, [[spoiler:but it turns out he's on the side of good despite his attitude.]]
* TheKillerWasLeftHanded: Inverted. [[spoiler:Michael deduced that Oliver was right-handed (he extended Michael his right hand to help him up after he fought the FBI agent), so he isn't fooled by his left-handed guitar.]]
* LovableCoward: Jimmy, who rarely if ever sticks out his neck in the movie, but is a friendly guy overall, never lies about his lack of bravery and provides some humor to tense scenes.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:The FBI agent's shifty attitude leads to Michael suspecting him as Prynne and getting him killed.]]

** Jackson, one of the passengers, is played by Roland Møller (who often plays villains), so he looks like he is a member of the conspiracy. Nope, he turns out to be a perfectly nice fellow willing to give his life to protect Prynne [[spoiler:once it turns out she is a scared teenage girl.]]
** Captain David Hawthorne is described as a possible DirtyCop and a {{Jerkass}}, [[spoiler:so once it turns out that many of the conspirators are dirty cops, it becomes possible that he's a villain, but he turns out to be a HeroAntagonist at worst.]]
** Vince appears to be Prynne, but it turns out [[spoiler:he switched seats with the ''real'' Prynne.]]
** Gwen is seen being given something by her boyfriend that she's reluctant to take onboard, and generally seems a little nervous afterwards. [[spoiler: it is just some fake ID's he wanted brought out to college and was too cowardly to take himself]].

* RetiredBadass: Michael used to be a detective with the NYPD, and uses his old skills well in the film. [[spoiler:It turns out he was chosen by the conspirators specifically for that reason. The film's epilogue sees him comes out of retirement and track Joanna down, preparing to arrest her on a train headed towards Chicago.]]
* SacrificialLamb: Michael's friend Walt is murdered by a member of the conspiracy in front of Michael as a warning.
* ScaryBlackMan: [[spoiler:Oliver at first seems like an aversion, being polite and sympathetic to Michael’s plight, but it turns out he is working for the conspiracy and killed the FBI agent guarding Prynne and is perfectly willing to kill Michael.]]
* SherlockScan: [[spoiler:Michael identifies Oliver as a fake because he has a left-handed guitar but is clearly a right-handed man.]]
* TakingAThirdOption: A hypothetical example. After Michael's IHaveThisFriend speech, Jackson says that if he were the guy, he'd take the money and try to find Prynne but warn Prynne to get off at the next stop and pretend he'd come up empty.
* ThrillerOnTheExpress: The bulk of the movie happens aboard a northbound Hudson Line train.

* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:Murphy is genuinely polite despite being part of TheConspiracy, and him implicating Michael in the conspiracy was not out of malice but a genuine (if horribly misguided and morally bankrupt) desire to help him.]]

* DirtyCop: [[spoiler:There's a faction of corrupt cops who are part of the conspiracy. Murphy is one of them, and the police captain mentions he's been under investigation already for it.]]

* FauxAffablyEvil: In contrast with [[spoiler:Murphy, who seems to be AffablyEvil]], Joanna is initially polite with Michael... before the film's progression continuously proves she's a ruthless monster willing to murder innocent people.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Captain Hawthorne initially acts like such a jerk that he's even suggested to be a DirtyCop, [[spoiler:but it turns out he's on the side of good side despite his attitude.]]

A woman offers Michael [=MacCauley=], an Irish-American NYPD member turned insurance agent who returns home by train, $100,000 if he helps her find a hidden passenger before the last stop. The man takes the money, after which he realizes that he is the victim of a perverse blackmail scheme.

* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:Murphy is genuinely polite despite being part of the conspiracy, and him implicating Michael in the conspiracy was not out of malice but a genuine (if horribly misguided and morally bankrupt) desire to help him.]]
* TheBadGuysAreCops: It turns out that dirty cops are involved with the conspiracy, and this is why the witness had gone to the FBI instead, knowing that the killers of her cousin were in the NYPD.
* BaitTheDog: Both [[spoiler:Murphy and Oliver]] seem helpful, but turn out to be working for the conspiracy.
* BigBadFriend: When Michael [[spoiler:gets surrounded inside of a derailed train cart with a group of hostages, his best friend and former police colleague Det. Lt. Alex Murphy comes in to negotiate. After a slip of the tongue, Alex reveals he is working with the criminals and is responsible for directly involving Michael, but did it to help with his money problems as he thought Michael wouldn't ask any questions.]]
* BottleEpisode: Except for the opening, the movie takes place within the train.

* DieHardOnAnX: On a train, but the plot is more covert and the passengers are unaware of what's happening for a majority of the film.
* DirtyCop: It turns out there's a group of corrupt cops who are part of the conspiracy. [[spoiler:Murphy is one of them. The police captain mentions he's been under investigation already for it.]]
* EatTheRich: Michael tells off a former Goldman Sachs employee and gives him the middle finger "on behalf of the American middle class".
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: After Michael's comment, the Goldman Sachs employee apologises to his mother on the phone for her having heard that.
* FauxAffablyEvil: In contrast with [[spoiler:Murphy, who seems to genuinely be nice despite working for the bad guys]], Joanna is polite with Michael, but it becomes obvious that she's a sadistic monster who is perfectly fine with murdering innocent people.

* HeKnowsTooMuch: The reason Prynne (the witness to a murder) is being targeted.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Sam dies while helping Michael unhook the train.]]
* IAmSpartacus: Many of the passengers claim to be Prynne at the end, with some MoodWhiplash coming when a cowering Jimmy quickly says that he for one isn't Prynne.

* IHaveYourWife: Joanna tries to coerce Michael into doing her bidding through getting his wife and son abducted, with the threat of them being killed if he doesn't obey. [[spoiler:Despite the threat, he refuses to murder an innocent person, and they're rescued by the FBI.]]

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Captain Hawthorne initially acts like such a jerk that he's even suggested to be a DirtyCop as a RedHerring, but as it turns out, he's on the good side despite his attitude.

** Jackson, one of the passengers, is played by Roland Møller, who often plays villains, so he looks like he is a member of the conspiracy. Nope, he turns out to be a perfectly nice fellow willing to give his life to protect Prynne [[spoiler:once it turns out she is a scared teenage girl.]]
** Captain David Hawthorne is described as a possible DirtyCop and a {{Jerkass}}, so once it turns out that many of the conspirators are dirty cops, he seems like a likely villain, but he turns out to be a HeroAntagonist at worst.
** Vince looks to be Prynne, but it turns out he is not and had in fact [[spoiler:switched seats with the ''actual'' Prynne.]]

* RedShirt: The FBI agent guarding Prynne.
* RetiredBadass: Michael used to be a detective with the NYPD, and uses his old skills well in the film. [[spoiler:It turns out he was chosen for them specifically. Later he comes out of retirement and tracks down Joanna, arresting her on another train.]]

* SherlockScan: [[spoiler:Michael identifies Oliver as a fake because he has a left-handed guitar but is clearly a right-handed man]].
* SpiritualSuccessor: The film can serve as one to ''Film/NonStop''. Both of them star Creator/LiamNeeson and are directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and are also DieHardOnAnX movies. The only difference is that ''Non-Stop'' takes place on a plane while ''The Commuter'' takes place on a train.

* ThrillerOnTheExpress: The bulk of the movie happens inside a moving train.

** Captain David Hawthorne is described as a possible DirtyCop and a {{Jerkass}}, so once it turns out that many of the conspirators are dirty cops, he seems like a likely villain, but he turns out to be clean and a HeroAntagonist at worst.

* BadassBeard: Jackson sports an impressive beard that adds to his mysterious, somewhat tough nature. Tony and Jimmy also have beards, but they don't pull off the vibe [[spoiler: although Tony does participate in the IAmSpartacus moment]].

* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:Murphy is genuinely polite despite being part of the conspiracy.]]

* ImprovisedWeapon: An emergency hammer and a guitar are used in a fight.

* MohsScaleOfViolenceHardness: Level 5. Blood is a frequent sight during acts of violence, but none of the liquid explicitly spurts or splatters. It's pretty soft as far as level 5s go, though.

''The Commuter'' is a 2018 {{Action}} {{Thriller}} film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. The film stars Creator/LiamNeeson, Creator/VeraFarmiga, Creator/PatrickWilson, Creator/JonathanBanks, and Creator/SamNeill.

* Except for the opening, the movie takes place within the train.

''The Commuter'' is a 2018 action thriller film directed by Jaume Collet-Serra. The film stars Creator/LiamNeeson, Creator/VeraFarmiga, Creator/PatrickWilson, Creator/JonathanBanks, and Creator/SamNeill.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/thecommuter.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''[[TagLine Every passenger is a piece of the puzzle.]]'']]

* CreativeClosingCredits: The credits is depicted as a train station map.