The Dark Knight Star’s New Thriller With 48% Rotten Tomatoes Score Gets New Life On Netflix

The Dark Knight star Aaron Eckhart’s action-thriller The Bricklayer has found an unexpected new lease on life on Netflix after its 48% Rotten Tomatoes score. The movie, directed by Renny Harlin, and co-starring The Vampire Diaries lead Nina Dobrev, follows a disillusioned former CIA agent-turned-bricklayer, who is forced out of retirement when an extortionist threatens the lives of those at the agency. The Bricklayer features a strong cast and received a day-and-date release in the United States on January 5.

Despite a poor critical Rotten Tomatoes score of 48% and a 30% audience score, The Bricklayer is enjoying a resurgence on Netflix, with the film hitting the streaming platform’s list of Top 10 Global Movies in its first week. The movie is currently ranked as the sixth most-watched on the list, notching 8.5 million hours viewed with 4.6 million individual views. This is for the week of April 8 through April 14, which saw What Jennifer Did arrive at No. 1.

Could The Bricklayer Be A Long-Term Netflix Hit?

The Bricklayer Is Off To A Positive Start

How long The Bricklayer might be in the Netflix Top 10 is unclear, but, despite its critical mauling, the movie does appear to have hit the ground running. The 4.6 million views and 8.5 million viewing hours make for a pretty impressive debut for the movie, and it was enough for The Bricklayer to come in above more well-known movies such as The Maze Runner and Hotel Transylvania 2. It could well do enough to remain on the list for at least a week or two more.

It is unlikely that critics are going to look at the movie more favorably, but audience opinion could be on the rise as The Bricklayer has proven to be an unexpected hit. Those who enjoyed it could contribute to positive word of mouth. Eckhart has never been box office gold, but he has always been a consistently reliable actor, and The Bricklayer seems to be another example of the Golden Globe-nominee diversifying his roles in recent years. He has added a slew of action-thrillers to his filmography, and Eckhart even performs his own stunts in The Bricklayer.

While it seems unlikely that Eckhart will evolve into an action hero in the same way as someone like Liam Neeson has managed to, it does appear that he feels at home in the genre. It also seems that his experiences with The Bricklayer have been positive, as he is set to star in another Harlin movie, the upcoming Deep Water. While The Bricklayer has had a strong streaming debut, it might not be around for too much longer, so viewers would be advised to check it out sooner rather than later.

Source: Netflix

The Bricklayer

Based on the novel by Paul Lindsay, The Bricklayer is an action thriller by director Renny Harlin that was released in 2024. Aaron Eckhart stars as former CIA agent Steve Vail, who returns to the line of duty when a former agent turns rogue. With their backs against the wall and the threat of agents being burned, Steve is reluctantly brought back into the field to protect the country from his former colleague’s dangerous actions.

Director

Renny Harlin

Release Date

January 5, 2024

Studio(s)

Millennium Media , Eclectic Pictures

Distributor(s)

Vertical Entertainment

Writers

Hanna Weg , Matt Johnson

Cast

Aaron Eckhart , Nina Dobrev , Tim Blake Nelson , Ilfenesh Hadera , Clifton Collins Jr.

Runtime

110 Minutes