Review The Bricklayer - The Last Agent: Old but Entertaining Motif

The Bricklayer is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Noah Boyd, a former FBI agent. It is considered to have a familiar, predictable plot but scores points thanks to its entertainment factor.

The story is based on a familiar motif

The "hidden master" in The Bricklayer is Steve Vail (Aaron Eckhart), a former CIA agent. Dissatisfied with the way the organization worked, Steve Vail decided to leave, turning to a masonry practice. One day, Radek (Collins Jr), Steve Vail's former close associate, kills international journalists and blames the CIA.

With the world against the United States, the CIA pleads for Vail's help, because only he can find Radek. Vail took on the mission partly because he wanted to stop his old friend, partly to overcome his past obsessions. Accompanying him on this journey is Kate (Nina Dobrev), a novice female CIA agent.

The very fast pace of the film is the first impression of The Bricklayer. The story opens with a shooting. This immediately builds suspense and tension for viewers. In subsequent developments, the work only takes a small break to introduce the character. Almost throughout the entire film, many fight scenes take place in a rush, bearing the characteristics of Hollywood-style action entertainment.

However, because it is filled with action scenes, The Bricklayer spends very little time on the story. Even in some situations, the film abuses fistfights instead of interpreting the characters' internal conflicts, such as when Vail decides to join the mission despite previously refusing. Director Renny Harlin chose to present a beautiful action sequence instead of dwelling on the reasons that forced him to change his mind.

In addition, the film also has many scenes going back to the past. Although the narrative is complex, it hardly contributes much to the story, nor has the inner character been explored deeply enough.

The two main characters, Steve Vail and Kate, are built with clear personalities, showing certain steps of maturity. However, the process leading up to that transformation is unconvincing, because the film takes too few breaks for the character to develop.

The brightest point in The Bricklayer's story lies in the antagonist line. Radek appears to be a criminal steeped in hatred. He didn't care about money or fame. What he wanted was revenge on those who had harmed his family. Therefore, this villain is both sympathetic but also curious, because everyone understands that there is no limit to someone who has lost everything.

In the end, The Bricklayer is definitely not a "lazy" work directed by Renny Harlin. He was essentially trying to add elements of politics, or global conspiracy, to thicken the story. But that hasn't created a breakthrough for an already familiar movie motif.

In addition, The Bricklayer has two plot-twists but both are predictable, making the ending corny for hardcore viewers.

Entertainment element de-scores

To overlay the stereotyping of the script, The Bricklayer entertains the audience with a hearty action feast.

In addition to the breathtaking gun battles, the work also owns many typical scenes of the action genre such as street racing, fire scenes, or knife fights ... The variety of action scenes creates great excitement for the audience when following the film journey.

In particular, the fight situations also limit the use of cutscenes, which try to capture the whole plot thanks to the smooth movement of the camera. Although it makes the action scenes less energetic, it makes them more realistic. Another strength of this approach is to help the audience reduce the feeling of fatigue when watching too many action scenes appear in a rush.

In addition, the vivid sound editing also helps The Bricklayer become more realistic and dramatic. The audience can clearly hear the sound of each punch, of the aircraft cabin taking off or especially the crash of sharp weapons.

With a budget of only about $24 million, which is considered quite low for action projects in Hollywood, it's hard to expect more from The Bricklayer in terms of visual effects. Director Renny Harlin actually did the best of what was within his scope.

When it comes to acting, that Aaron Eckhart still shows himself to be a talented actor who deserves more big roles than he currently has. Former spy Vail in The Bricklayer, Aaron Eckhart gave a stellar performance in action sequences. However, he did not have much emotional room due to having to take on a character that lacked depth.

The same goes for Nina Dobrev as Kate. In particular, her character sometimes behaves quite corny, nor has she had many opportunities to show in action sequences.

Overall, The Bricklayer is merely a mid-range action and entertainment work. The film follows the old motif but is still accessible, placing an emphasis on entertainment instead of plot. This is considered a popular type of "fast food" of the film industry.

At a time when domestic theaters are filled with horror movies, The Bricklayer is still a reasonable choice for audiences.

Pax Thien has been compared to David Beckham, whose lifestyle is equally rich Thảo Mai14:35:19 08/01/2024Pax Thien was adopted by Angelina Jolie in Vietnam in 2007. From an orphan boy, the Vietnamese-born adopted son of the actress has completely changed to become an A-list star in Hollywood.