Lucy Liu, an underrated comic actress who has shown her talents as an action hero in the Charlie's Angels franchise, is currently trapped in a bad movie called Code Name: The Cleaner. Cedric the Entertainer has top billing in this action/comedy that lacks original action and fails to inspire many laughs.
Adam R. Holz (Plugged In) says, "Dull one-liners are supposed to amp up the humor factor but they don't connect. The wink-wink, nudge-nudge action clichés Cedric and Co. ape don't seem satirical or smart, just tired. In a sentence, virtually every aspect of this tale has been told somewhere else—and better."
David DiCerto (Catholic News Service) calls it "a forgettable comedy. … Saddled with such vacuous material, Cedric provides only modest laughs, and director Les Mayfield's unfunny, at times lewd, shenanigans could have been 'cleaner.'"
Mainstream critics wish the film would go undercover and stay there.
from Film Forum, 01/18/07Michael Brunk (Past the Popcorn) says, "Okay, the bottom line … if you want a light movie with a dash of comedy and a sprinkle of action—and you happen to like Cedric the Entertainer—you could probably do worse than Code Name: The Cleaner. But don't expect much more than that."