14-07-2025
Netflix release panned by critics but loved by audiences flies to number one
A sci-fi thriller slammed by critics as 'shallow' has defied the odds by becoming Netflix 's number one most-watched movie worldwide just days after its release.
Brick, a German psychological thriller starring Matthias Schweighofer and Ruby O. Fee, debuted on the platform on July 10 with little advertisement of its release.
The film currently holds a low 31 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, with outlets like Decider urging audiences to 'skip it,' describing the movie as a 'go-nowhere high-concept thriller.'
Tom's Guide also aimed its critiques at the film's 'fundamental flaws' and 'lack of subtlety.'
'It's constructed on a pretty shaky foundation, with hammy dialogue, soap opera-level performances, and such a lack of subtlety that it suggests the filmmakers think the average Netflix subscriber has the media literacy of a middle schooler,' the outlet wrote.
It added that, 'despite its many fundamental flaws, I found the need for answers.'
However, despite the brutal reviews, Brick is dominating Netflix's global charts and has cracked the Top 10 in the US as well.
On the day of its release, it topped the charts in 43 countries, reaching 44 countries on July 12, per CBR.
Due to its lack of promotion and that it's a foreign film, it sits in third place on the domestic charts.
It is now streaming ahead of high-profile titles like Madea's Destination Wedding and Kpop Demon Hunters.
And viewers have been gushing over the movie - and passionately recommending it to others.
'A pretty amazing and exciting contained thriller with a sci-fi twist,' someone wrote.
'The ensemble and the camera work sticks out, with the plot-taken twists you don't see coming.
'Fun and cool with that little German hint of weirdness!'
Someone else said: 'This movie was so amazing. Great cast, great acting. I had no clue what was going to happen next.
'It is Escape Room on steroids. Great movie, great story, great cast, great direction.'
Set in Hamburg, Germany, the film follows a couple who wake up one morning to find their apartment building suddenly sealed in by mysterious, impenetrable black walls.
As panic spreads among their neighbors, they are forced to work together to escape and uncover the secret behind their confinement.
Without spoiling too much, the film's final twist reveals the walls are part of a high-tech nanotech defense system gone haywire.
Philip Kock wrote and directed the film, which also stars Frederick Lau, Josef Berousek, Alexander Beyer, Sira-Anna Faal, Murathan Muslu, Axel Werner, and Salber Lee Williams.
