Released: January 5th, 2007
Runtime: 1 hr. 24 min.
Ticket Price: $5.00 Early Matinee
Refreshments: Swedish Fish
Starring: Cedric the Entertainer, Lucy Liu, Nicollette Sheridan
Director: Les Mayfield
Rating: Wait for the Rental, if not longer – 
Synopsis: Jake Rodgers looks to be just a regular guy, but he has no idea who he is after he gets hit on the head by an unknown attacker. Then he gets mixed up in a high-level government conspiracy, leaving him and those looking for him to start thinking he might actually be an undercover agent, who may have information regarding a secret arms deal that involves the CIA and FBI.
Review: Code Name: The Cleaner is an action comedy and it has some of both. Yet, if you are going for the comedy aspect and have seen the trailer, then you have seen 90% of the jokes already. At the end, though, they do have a nice bunch of outtakes for your comic enjoyment. I wish the trailer makers could figure out a way to not give everything away, but still make the film look worth seeing. As for the action, there were some decent fight scenes but gunplay was poorly done.
The movie opens with a flyover of Downtown Seattle, the Space Needle all lit up at the top of the screen. I think to myself, hey another movie set in Seattle that is filmed in Vancouver, B.C. and within a few scenes my thoughts are confirmed. This is definitely not Seattle. Seeing as how I live in the Seattle area, I always like to see how well filmmakers do in turning Vancouver into Seattle. Not too bad, they at least put Washington plates on the vehicles.
Cedric the Entertainer (Man of the House, Johnson Family Vacation) is his characteristic movie self as Jake Rodgers, who may or may not be a super spy. Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels, Ally McBeal) easily slips into her Charlie’s Angels persona and is there to help him along as Gina. Bad girl Diane, played by Nicollette Sheridan (Desperate Housewives), is searching for a stolen computer chip for her boss, Erik Hauck, played by B movie action star Marc Dacascos (Iron Chef America).
The movie is an OK action comedy with a few funny lines and a decent fight scene. If I were you, I would wait for the DVD rental, if not longer, as it will be on HBO or Showtime one day.
