The Bricklayer. The title is an apt one for several reasons, but let’s start with director Renny Harlin. A journeyman nowadays, his skills as a filmmaker have largely been overlooked despite some classics to his name, including Die Hard 2 and the extraordinary The Long Kiss Goodnight. While his recent output hasn’t been great, it’s not always a function of his talents, just the material. And that is clear with The Bricklayer, an enjoyable, globe-trotting spy flick that might’ve been a perfect vehicle for someone like Bruce Willis back in the day.
In fact, the lead role was initially set for Gerard Butler back in 2011, the same year that author Paul Lindsay, working under the pseudonym Noah Boyd, died just two books into his Steve Vail series of novels. The Bricklayer is based on the first of those (which you can get here), and it’s with Aaron Eckhart in the role of Vail, a literal bricklayer and ex-CIA dude with a past riddled with violence and old grudges. The film begins with a journalist (Veronica Ferres) murdered in Greece before she can expose information critical of U.S. intelligence activities. She’s just the latest in a series of murders by a mysterious killer, whose aim is to make it look as if the CIA is rubbing out its most vocal critics, leading to literal riots in the streets.
Vail enters the picture when ambitious, stick-in-the-mud analyst Kate Bannon (Nina Dobrev) figures out the killer is Victor Radek (Clifton Collins Jr.), former CIA operative and close friend of Vail’s believed to have been killed months earlier. Tim Blake Nelson, chewing his way through a role as a CIA bigwig, recruits Vail to return and bring Radek to justice…especially since Vail was the guy who supposedly killed him. But it isn’t until Vail is attacked himself that he actually agrees. Old grudges die hard, no pun intended. Unfortunately, Vail will have to be stuck with Bannon as a chaperone of sorts, in hopes that her by-the-book attitude will help keep him in line.
The Bricklayer uses a pretty standard formula for buddy crime flicks. Vail is abrasive and a loner; a guy who listens to Miles Davis on long flights, and naturally ignores any orders that come his way. Bannon is the opposite; she “doesn’t listen to music”, hates pets, is single, and is basically a drag for someone so young. The oil and water mix is predictable but it works, with Eckhart and Dobrev finding some pretty decent chemistry. He’s the guy who likes to mix it up, she’s the desk jockey eager to prove she can be a field agent.
In actuality, this is the first time in ages that I’ve liked an Eckhart performance. He seems to have settled into a groove of playing grumpy characters in suspense movies, but here he’s able to have a little bit of fun, croaking out Dirty Harry-esque dialogue that sounds like an old man complaining. He throws himself into the many fight scenes, and while the violence is weirdly over-the-top, Eckhart handles them like a pro. I like that Vail, despite some surface-level similarity to Jack Reacher, isn’t an indestructible beast. Vail takes a lot of punishment and dishes just as much out. Harlin has never been the most exciting director in the world but he can shoot fisticuffs really well, and he knows how to highlight his actors’ best attributes. That’s one thing the directors of those great action movies of the ’80s and early ’90s learned to do better than anyone, and Harlin still has it.
While the performances all around are solid, the plot is still something of a mess. Double-crosses and convoluted backstories abound, but little of it means anything because the characters lack introspection. At least the production values are surprisingly robust, with Harlin getting more to play around with than he’s had in ages. The Greek locale offers some lush views and an exotic atmosphere, a plus even if they clash with the author’s original vision. The Bricklayer doesn’t break the mold, but like the titular occupation, it sets a sturdy foundation for an Eckhart-led franchise. With only one Vail book remaining, Agent X, it remains to be seen if that will happen.
The Bricklayer is in theaters and VOD now.
