“Clean” is a poor man’s “John Wick” and nowhere near as good. As fun as it is to spot familiar Utica landmarks in the locally-filmed “Clean,” that does not make up for the rest of the trite, cliche-ridden movie.

Famously filmed in Utica in 2018, “Clean” uses the city and the surrounding area to create a sense of grime and despair. A lot of familiar locations make the cut, like the Kossuth Fish Market and the now closed Adirondack Diner & Lanes in Barneveld. It’s fun to spot these locales while watching “Clean.” Too bad that game of "Spot the Local Landmark" is the only reason to watch the movie.

“Clean” is playing in local theaters or can be rented and downloaded at home.

Adrien Brody stars as a lonely trash collector nicknamed “Clean” in the City of Utica. He’s haunted by a violent and tragic past, and does what he can to help clean up his neighborhood. But when he runs afoul of a local crime boss, Clean must fall back on his old ways to protect the people he cares about.

“Clean” is a dark, grimy, ugly little movie that seems to think it has a lot to say about trauma, but is almost comical in its efforts to be artistic. It features grim narration from Brody, and lots of lingering shots of urban decay. “Clean” is also almost comical in how it’s never met a cliche it didn’t fully embrace.

The plot of “Clean” has been very popular in recent years, from “John Wick” to “Nobody” to all those violent revenge films of the 1970s. “Clean” is clearly using those movies as inspiration, but it has absolutely nothing new to say about the plot and nothing new to add. “Clean” even tries to replicate the famous phone call scenes from “John Wick,” but like everything else, “Clean” does it much worse.

A seemingly ordinary anti-hero with a dark past. A young, innocent Black girl who might get tempted into a hip hop-infused gang lifestyle. A pudgy, white crime lord who smuggles drugs and lives in a mansion with a put-upon wife. These are just a few of the cliches “Clean” uses to build its entire story. There isn’t an original bone in this movie’s body.

“Clean” doesn’t even find anything unique to do with its Utica setting. This movie could be set in any city in the country and still be the same movie. Don’t go into the film expecting Adrien Brody to talk about the Comets or whip up a nice plate of chicken riggies. Honestly, “Clean” makes both the city of Utica and its police department look pretty bad.

To say nothing of the fact that the plot of “Clean” doesn’t even start until about 30 to 40 minutes into the 94 minute film.

It’s really cool to know that a Hollywood movie was filmed and is set in Utica, but that’s the only reason to watch “Clean”.

For more, listen to reporter Sean I. Mills' #SentinelCinema podcast about the movie, now online at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clean/id1495021878?i=1000549810046