Most Underrated R-Rated Action of 2023 Makes a Major Comeback on Netflix

Summary

• In January 2024, an action thriller was released by the director of Die Hard 2, Renny Harlin.
• Upon its release, the movie failed to impress critics and audiences alike.
• However, it was rediscovered by Netflix users in April 2024.

There's something about full-length action movies whose titles are based on the type of activity, and by some strange coincidence, Jason Statham becomes the most pathos-laden representative of this or that profession.

First the actor starred in The Mechanic and its sequel (even though he wasn't a mechanic), then he starred in The Expendables (even though he wasn't expendable), and in 2024 came The Beekeeper, where, to everyone's surprise, Statham's character… actually turned out to be a beekeeper!

But at the same time as The Beekeeper, another action movie was released, The Bricklayer. All jokes aside, the movie, helmed by Die Hard 2 director Renny Harlin, got some strong viewership ratings, considering that the reviews from critics and audiences were not the most impressive.

Such a low opinion of the flick is not entirely justified, however, as The Bricklayer is a fairly entertaining, if not the most profound, movie that has been thankfully rescued from obscurity by Netflix.

What Is This Aaron Eckhart Movie About?

The Bricklayer was released just one week before The Beekeeper, on January 5, 2024, and so the public quickly forgot about it.

The plot is pretty straightforward: Aaron Eckhart's character, Steve Vail, is a former CIA agent who has resolved to live in peace, listen to jazz and, as you might guess, work as a bricklayer. However, fate has arranged for him to return to an incredibly stressful work environment when his former colleague, Victor Radek, goes on a bloody rampage taking revenge on the CIA for having his family murdered by the Russians.

As a result, Vail is forced to return to his former profession against his will in order to stop his old friend and save the CIA's reputation. He is aided by Kate (played by The Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev), a young but talented agent whom Vail initially tries to get rid of.

The Action Movie Has Once Again Made Its Way to the Top of Netflix

As we mentioned earlier, Netflix has rekindled interest in The Bricklayer, as the film is back on the list of most-watched full-length releases on the streaming service. According to What's on Netflix, The Bricklayer came out of nowhere to become the second most-watched film in the US as of April 12, behind the much-hyped documentary What Jennifer Did, which debuted on April 10.

The film continued to score impressive ratings in the following days, remaining in second place through April 16, but then the film's position began to gradually decline, and by April 17, The Bricklayer had fallen to fourth place. As of April 18, 2024, it is still in the fourth spot, showing that a large portion of the American Netflix audience was incredibly interested in the Aaron Eckhart flick for the last couple of weeks.

What Are Critics and Audiences Saying about It?

As we said, the reviews for the movie are not the most impressive: on Rotten Tomatoes, the critics score was only 48%, and the audience score was even lower, a measly 29%. Such low scores are due to the fact that The Bricklayer fails to deliver anything beyond the clichéd script, which might have been entertaining in the 1990s when Harlin was famous for Die Hard 2, but unfortunately not in 2024.

However, if that's what you're looking for, an uncomplicated but engaging popcorn action flick, then The Bricklayer will prove to be a truly fascinating discovery on Netflix.