Netflix‘s newest German thriller, Brick, which premiered on July 10, 2025, has already shattered streaming information. The movie rocketed onto Netflix’s Prime 10 listing, claiming the coveted primary spot in 43 nations only a day after its launch. The feat is spectacular, on condition that such speedy success is most frequently achieved by main blockbusters. Nevertheless, whereas viewers are tuning in by the tens of millions, critics will not be lining as much as heap reward on the film. The movie has a dismal 35% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a fair worse 26% viewers rating, suggesting that whereas Brick‘s high-concept thriller has drawn consideration, it has not dug deep sufficient.
As critics have identified, the premise of Brick brims with potential, however falls in need of delivering the emotional exploration it teases. Whereas the movie is undeniably standard for its suspense and twisted setup, critics argue that the hype merely disguises an underbaked psychological thriller, and so they could also be proper. With its lackluster character arcs and underdeveloped themes, critics appear to have hit the nail on the top with regards to Brick.
Brick
- Launch Date
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July 10, 2025
- Runtime
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99 minutes
- Director
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Philip Koch
- Writers
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Philip Koch
- Producers
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Max Wiedemann, Quirin Berg, Katrin Goetter
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Matthias Schweighöfer
Uncredited
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‘Brick’ Merely Scratches the Floor of Its Characters
Brick‘s ensemble lockdown plot affords ample alternative for deep, emotionally wealthy character dynamics. Nevertheless, as critics argue, most characters barely register past preliminary archetypes. Tim and Olivia are a bereaved couple, joined by neighbors obsessive about conspiracy theories and battling substance abuse. The characters come throughout extra as plot gadgets than actual folks. A grandfather, Mr. Oswalt, and his granddaughter, Lea, supply fleeting glimpses of emotional depth, but these moments, too, really feel remoted relatively than woven into the movie’s narrative cloth.
Brick additionally struggles with pacing, resulting in a detrimental impact on its character portrayals. Because the movie settles into its confined surroundings, it focuses closely on investigating the mysterious wall, leaving little room for character growth or backstory. Reviewers have famous that the script overflows with clichés, that includes one-dimensional portrayals, equivalent to theories relating to alien invasions on TikTok, which fall flat and sign lazy characterization.
Maybe most jarringly, Brick‘s main couple, Tim and Olivia, exist at what appears like a distance. Trauma is referenced from the get-go, with bloody flashbacks from Tim’s perspective. But, it’s by no means fleshed out. Their tensions proceed to simmer, however hardly ever erupt into significant battle or perception, save for one heated occasion within the latter a part of the movie. This appears like a wasted emotional setup, one that may have had a big influence on viewers if it had been adequately explored.
The Themes in ‘Brick’ By no means Absolutely Land
Brick makes an attempt to sort out a number of heavy themes, together with grief, guilt, and isolation. But, it by no means appears to completely decide to any of them. Though the literal wall surrounding the constructing is supposed to represent emotional limitations, the symbolism stays surface-level, missing each subtlety and depth. Even the sci-fi twist of the darkish brick partitions forming a city-wide construction as a result of a nanotech malfunction finally feels added for mere shock worth, with the explanations behind the situation by no means being explored.
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Regardless of the movie drawing comparisons to existential thrillers equivalent to Dice and Escape Room, Brick is unable to ship the identical gripping, psychological stress. The philosophical undertones of human resilience and trauma really feel tacked on, stopping them from really resonating with audiences. Brick raises massive questions, but leaves them hanging, failing to discover its full potential. As critic Austin Burke places it:
“Brick finally lands with a thud, tackling concepts like grief and regret, however injecting little life into its characters past these under-explored themes… This lure doesn’t find yourself feeling as elaborate or as satisfying as meant.”
Finally, Brick turns into a textbook instance of narrative filler masquerading as thoughtfulness. It spends a substantial period of time spinning the thriller, however falls in need of digging into the implications of the thriller or the emotional toll it takes on its characters. This leaves viewers with a plethora of unanswered questions and diluted themes, relatively than a resonant and complete conclusion.
‘Brick’ Had Sufficient Potential to Actually Develop into a Hit
With its narrative of a seemingly atypical condo advanced being inexplicably enclosed in a single day by a strong brick wall that severs its inhabitants from the skin world, Brick is constructed on an idea that’s each advanced and thematically wealthy. Such a premise holds important promise, providing fertile floor for pronounced psychological stress alongside bigger social commentary. But, as with its characters and themes, the potential is wasted.
Fairly than progressively constructing suspense or deepening the thriller, the plot stays slender, providing solely a handful of scattered clues. Themes equivalent to surveillance, authorities management, societal collapse, and even existential dread, which the movie might have explored, stay untouched. Even the sense of claustrophobia, given how the tenants are nicely and really blocked in, doesn’t evolve. The wall turns into nearly a static backdrop, with the eventual rationalization involving nanotechnology feeling rushed, inadequate, and disconnected. This affords little satisfaction for viewers who stay invested within the thriller of Brick.
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With a extra formidable strategy to its world-building, Brick might have delivered a layered narrative that balanced suspense with introspection. The movie had the chance to discover how folks react in isolation, how grief and trauma influence relationships and survival, and even to develop a mythology across the wall itself. This could have provided actual payoff, particularly if the movie opted to completely embrace its sci-fi undertones. As a substitute, Brick has opted for ambiguity over depth, and ease over scale, leading to what might have been a standout thriller with psychological weight and intrigue finally feeling underdeveloped and unmemorable. Brick is now streaming on Netflix.