Samuel L. Jackson’s Crime Thriller Cleaner Is a Netflix Hit 19 Years Later

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Samuel L. Jackson is a hugely successful actor, famous for movies like Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained. Now, a crime thriller he starred in that was originally criticized is gaining popularity on streaming services.

According to FlixPatrol, the 2007 thriller Cleaner, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Ed Harris, Keke Palmer, and Eva Mendes, is now the second most popular movie on Netflix in the U.S. Though it only earned $5.8 million in theaters with a $25 million budget, Cleaner is experiencing a resurgence in popularity nearly 20 years later thanks to Netflix.

What Is Cleaner About?

The story centers on Samuel L. Jackson’s character, Tom Cutler, a former police officer who now cleans up crime scenes. While cleaning a house for a wealthy family, he senses something isn’t right and suspects he’s become involved in a conspiracy.

Ann Norcut, the homeowner, insists she didn’t request a crime scene cleanup service. However, her husband is missing, leading Tom to believe a detective hired him to conceal evidence. Although Ann and Tom team up, the situation escalates, and Tom’s daughter, Rose, fears for his safety.

Cleaner Received Mostly Negative Reviews

Although Cleaner had a promising idea and a good cast, critics generally disliked it. The film received a 17% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating mostly negative reviews. Nathan Rabin of the AV Club described it as “low-energy, boring, and one of the most unremarkable films” in director Renny Harlin’s career.

Richard Roeper, of Ebert & Roeper, enjoyed the chemistry between Samuel L. Jackson and Keke Palmer, suggesting they would make a great on-screen father and daughter in a stronger movie. Michael Rechtshaffen from The Hollywood Reporter offered a more favorable assessment, calling Cleaner a well-crafted crime mystery with a clever plot and a standout performance by Samuel L. Jackson.

I recently checked out Cleaner from 2007 on IMDb, and it has a 6.1 rating with nearly 50,000 reviews – not bad! But it was a busy year for Samuel L. Jackson; he was also in 1408 and Resurrecting the Champ, both of which people seemed to enjoy more. And let’s not forget the big blockbusters that came out then, like Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and Shrek the Third.

The movie Cleaner faced tough competition when it was released, going up against other popular films starring Samuel L. Jackson and other big blockbusters. As a result, it didn’t get much attention at the time and struggled to find viewers. However, nearly 20 years later, Cleaner is gaining a new audience thanks to its recent addition to Netflix in the United States.

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2026-05-28 03:07