Aaron Eckhart over the past handful of years has slowly been transforming himself into quite the B-Action star with films like Line of Duty, Muzzle, Ambush, Rumble Through the Dark, and his now newest, simply titled, The Bricklayer. Here Eckhart plays an ex-CIA agent named Vail who is reactivated when an unknown extortionist begins targeting the agency. An idea that to be honest is a simple but promising plot when you think about it. A rogue agent turning agency secrets into blackmail and framing the agency for crimes is a surprisingly clever plot to drop inside the cluttered world of espionage themed action thrillers.
Renny Harlan with films such as Die Hard 2, and Cliffhanger under his belt is also no stranger to action flicks. And to his credit, the action set-pieces are the strongest aspect of this film. Eckhart does a lot of his own stunt work, and he brings a physicality to the role that I think translates effectively on screen. Whether it be the chase-sequences, the fight scenes, or the gunplay, the action overall is well-staged. The editing gets slightly iffy in places but for the most part Harlin shows he still has his talents of capturing adrenaline pumping action. Plus, with Eckhart commanding this, admittedly generic role, the viewer gets to see their leading man in the middle of the intensity which will naturally elevate the engagement while watching.
Eckhart on the acting side does deliver a capable performance. He carries the film well and he has a solid cast around him. Clifton Collins Jr. is a talented character actor, as is Tim Blake Nelson. I do think Nelson overplays his role considering the tone of The Bricklayer. But it’s mostly noticeable in short instances because overall he’s good here, as is Collins Jr. Nina Dobrev delivers a strong performance and she’s serviceable in spots of the story progression. But she and Eckhart were lacking some of the needed chemistry for their roles. They’re fine together; they just don’t pop as a duo here. However, to their credit the writing doesn’t layer their characters with much depth. So naturally it hinders Eckhart and Dobrev’s ability to elevate these roles much from the recycle bin.
The pacing is a bit off as well with the middle dragging. At ten-minutes under two-hours the progression of this story really doesn’t need more than a tight 90 to get the point across while still keeping the energy up and not exposing the lack of rapport between Eckhart and Dobrev. They’re fine as mentioned, just not very memorable as this movie takes an interesting premise and rolls it through the checklist of action tropes. When the action is moving The Bricklayer has its spot of appeal for being a B-Action flick. Yet the lack of intrigue or memorable characters will ultimately result in this film being lost at sea with the many other direct-to-video action thrillers that flood the market.
Grade: C+
CAST: Aaron Eckhart, Nina Dobrev, Clifton Collins Jr., Time Blake Nelson, Ilfenesh Hadera, Oliver Trvena DIRECTOR: Renny Harlin WRITER(S): Pete Travis & Hanna Weg (Screenplay), Noah Boyd, Marc Moss, Matt Johnson (Novel) DISTRIBUTOR: Millennium Media RUNNING TIME: 110 minutes RATING: R (For strong language and violence) YEAR: 2024 (US) LANGUAGE: English GENRE: Action/Thriller
Anthony J. Digioia II © 2024 SilverScreen Analysis
