THE BRICKLAYER (2023) - Movie Review

Director: Renny Harlin
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Nina Dobrev, Clifton Collins Jr., Tim Blake Nelson, Ilfenesh Hadera
Genre: Action, Thriller
Writer: Hanna Weg, Matt Johnson
Runtime: 110 min
Rated: Rated R for strong violence, and language
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), DVD (Amazon), Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

Starring Aaron Eckhart and Nina Dobrev, Renny Harlin’s action thriller The Bricklayer follows a rogue insurgent blackmailing the CIA by assassinating foreign journalists and framing the agency for the bloodshed. As other nations begin turning against the U.S., the CIA must lure Steve Vail (Eckhart) — their most brilliant yet rebellious operative — out of retirement. Armed with an elite and deadly skill set, Vail must help in clearing the agency’s name, forcing him to confront his checkered past while unraveling an international conspiracy. Based on the novel, "The Bricklayer" by former FBI agent Paul Lindsay a.k.a. Noah Boyd.

Review:

"The Bricklayer" is a silly little spy thriller directed by veteran action helmer Renny Harlin, who is best know for directing films like "Die Hard 2", "Cliffhanger", "The Long Kiss Goodnight" and "Deep Blue Sea". But, it seems the big studios have turned their back on Harlin, who is now mostly directing this kind of drab direct-to-streaming fare.

The film is based on the 2010 novel of the same name written by Paul Lindsay under the pen name Noah Boyd. Much like Tom Clancy, Lindsay, who was a former Marine and FBI agent, apparently used the experience from his career to infuse his books with a grounded authenticity. It's a shame then that the movie's plot is so silly and generic. I'm not even kidding, your brain will go offline at various points in the movie. Steve Vail, the titular former CIA operative played by Aaron Eckhart, who never leaves home without his trowel, is one of the most hilariously ridicuolus characters I've ever seen. His bricklaying hobby/deadly skill set is so absurd that it almost feels like Mel Brooks made a "Taken" parody.

They say Gerard Butler was at some point attached to star in and produce the film, but eventually dropped out. Maybe he guessed which way the production was headed and decided it's time to leave and let some other unfortunate soul have their name on the Blu-ray cover. Eckhary really gives it his all, but he can't elevate a character that makes little sense. And his one-liners are ghastly. I will say that at least he's in pretty great shape for (at the time) a 55-year-old actor, and I still think he could have been a solid action guy, if he would have landed the right projects. He can certainly bring the right kind of intensity to a role like this.

The supporting cast can't redeem the convoluted script, either. Clifton Collins Jr. as rogue agent Victor Radek, is stuck playing an unconvincing and forgettable antagonist to our bricklaying hero. He doesn't even have a cool set of skills like welding, for example. Just imagine, Vail's bricklaying versus Radek's welding skills. Now that's a movie I would enjoy. Instead we get to watch Vail and Radek talk a lot over the phone. Meanwhile Vail fights through waves of useless cannon fodder minions, and then the movie ends with the most anticlimactic confrontation in the history of cinema. Nina Dobrev is also around as Kate Bannon, the bricklayer's sidekick, a CIA rookie who joins him on this merry black op to capture Radek, only to discover that she is inconsequential to the plot and just there to look pretty.

The fight scenes in this are pretty decent, and there are even some cool car stunts. Harlin definitely knows how to shoot a proper action scene, and it helps to at least distract from the terrible script. The filmmakers probably got a great deal to shoot in Greece, and while it's not a masterclass in cinematography, they make the most of filming in Thessaloniki.

As a spy thriller, "The Bricklayer" is a puzzling mess. As a check-your-brain-at-the-door kind of action movie, it's passable and mildly entertaining. You'll be laughing at a lot of things the filmmakers probably didn't intend to be funny, but that's still a lot of fun. However, it's far too generic and bland to become "so bad it's good".

SCORE: 5/10