Brick

Brick is a classic example of a film with a fascinating concept but frustrating execution. Visually and thematically, it promises a lot; a surreal urban prison, mysterious walls, and hints of deeper societal metaphors. The creativity is undeniable, and the premise alone earns some respect. Unfortunately, that's where the praise ends. The flow is muddled, the plot is meandering, and any emotional resonance falls completely flat. It is as if the movie wanted to be some sort of sci-fi thriller, but shifted into almost a drama. It is confusing, and not focused on the plot itself.

It leaves you more detached than intrigued. Once the credits roll, there's little desire to revisit; simply because it is unsatisfying. A wasted opportunity wrapped in a high-concept shell.

Leave it to German master filmmaker Philip Koch to deliver an unspectacular premise and execute with tons of tedious nonsense.

Despite the reviews that claim the math is wrong when emasculated protagonist calculates permutations of four digits, it actually holds, since we can see that four different digits have been used on the touchscreen. And because the number of permutations with four different elements is 4!=24, he is indeed right. Which still is complete nonsense, of course, because he couldn't have known the code has four digits to begin with.

So, whatever. The whole thing is written like someone just discovered writing. The dialogue is abysmal, the acting mostly bad, the inclusion forced like everything at Netflix, the direction incompetent, the score forgettable (except for the many times it misses the mood, then it's annoying). How something like this is still being greenlit? Why is non-filmmaker Koch still allowed anywhere near a camera? Who knows?

But because this is German filmmaking, it probably has to do with the pseudo-socialist funding system that proved to be a full trough the fat pigs won't leave - ever.

Don't waste your time on this.

I was worried this movie would not pay off, would end ambiguously with too much character drama. Good news! It does end, and explanation is given. This is not one of those movies (like The Divide 2011, or Cube 1997) that doesn't bother explaining what happened. Maybe audiences LIKE being left hanging - I don't! I'm watching this scifi "high concept" for answers! You don't have a murder mystery then never reveal the murderer!

Yes, you'll put up with some drama - some of it drags, but there IS a payoff in explanation. YES, there will be some dangling strings, but in the end you're given a satisfying enough explanation for their plight.

Quick note to other reviewers - many of you have your math very wrong for the discovering the code. He uses flour to determine the four numbers used to activate the code. In statistics this is a permutation. Using the four numbers he knows (NOT NINE!) he has four options for the first, three for the second, two for the third. That's 4x3x2x1=24 possibilities as he stated. (Why the system didn't have a "stops after the third password attempt" is beyond me)

At first, it looks like it's going to be a good movie. A simple but powerful premise: a couple on the verge of emotional collapse wakes up to find their apartment sealed off by a mysterious black wall. From there, you might expect a mix of tension, claustrophobic sci-fi, and psychological drama. And for a while, Brick delivers. But then, it loses its way.

The beginning works: Tim (Matthias Schweighöfer) buries himself in work, Olivia (Ruby O. Fee) wants to run from a relationship that feels empty. Just when she decides to leave, the whole building shuts down. No signal, no water, no windows. At first, you're hooked because you're asking the same questions they are: what's going on? Why them? What's behind those walls?

But soon the script starts to stumble. More characters show up, each with their own set of clichés: the shady cop, the troubled young couple, the sick old man, the innocent granddaughter... and instead of adding tension, they dilute it. The relationships that could have meant something stay flat, and the central mystery - the wall, the entrapment, the "why" - fades as the story drifts into forced dialogue and scenes that go nowhere.

You can tell the director wants to explore grief, emotional isolation, and the inner walls we build. And to some extent, he does, especially thanks to the lead performances, which are the best thing here. But with the supporting characters adding little, the pacing turns uneven and the emotional weight the story aimed for gets lost along the way.

Visually, it's decent. The production design creates an effective atmosphere, and there are moments when the oppressive mood comes through. But then come the scenes that try to be action or conspiratorial thriller, and it all falls apart. Brick wants to be a lot: a drama, a mystery, a social horror, a critique of fake news... but in the end, it never fully commits to any of them.

The resolution doesn't help either. The "reason" behind the confinement tries to close things out with symbolic meaning, but it doesn't quite land. It feels like the journey was supposed to matter more than the answer. That's fine, but even the journey ends up feeling incomplete.

It's not a disaster. There are interesting ideas, a few well-done scenes, and a mood that works in some places. But everything it could have been - intense, meaningful, unsettling - ends up as just "almost." It doesn't quite bore, but it doesn't move you either, and for a story about being trapped, that's a problem.

Brick is the ultimate grandmother of all bad movies ever made. So bad you can hardly believe it. Incredibly lame with a stupid story that leads nowhere. Who writes this stuff? Who at Netflix thinks, "hey this sound really cool. How much money do you need? I mean, we are Netflix, we swim in money." The entire 2nd act, (if one can call it that) is so painfully boring. Every character is undeveloped, has no goal and is totally unappealing. What a waist of time. The director (also the author) behind this drama has no idea how to build suspense. Do you see any fear, sweat, tears or anger in the characters? No. The whole thing was probably shot on some soundstage in Eastern Europe (because it was cheap). Just an embarrassing movie.