Plot Summary
This latest movie from director Renny Harlin is an action thriller starring Aaron Eckhart.
Eckhart stars as Steve Vail, an ex-CIA agent who is called back into service when Victor Radek (Clifton Collins Jr.), a former spy with a grudge against the agency, goes on a killing spree.
As Vail gets closer to catching Radek, he begins to suspect somebody from the CIA is working alongside him. Who could this be?
Let’s take a closer look at the movie.
Who is Victor Radek?
Radek joined the CIA as a safe haven for himself and his family after working as a negotiator for the Russian and Greek mafias.
After aligning himself with the CIA, he worked for them as a covert operator. They tasked him with killing a Russian mobster named Popov but after he did so, his cover was blown. Consequently, the Russians killed his family.
Radek blamed the agency for blowing his cover. Steve Vail was Radek’s handler at the time and he failed in his job to protect the agent’s wife and daughter.
When the CIA’s supposed betrayal caused Radek to go on a killing spree, Vail was ordered by the CIA to kill him. However, Vail decided against doing so and let Radek go free, under the condition that he go off the radar so his death could be faked.
Why do the CIA re-hire Steve Vail?
Radek was presumed dead but years after the business with the Russians, he makes his presence known again.
As revenge against the CIA, he blackmails them, by asking for a fortune in Bitcoin in return for his staying silent about their hit list, which contains the names of their political targets.
As part of his blackmail plot, Radek begins to kill famed journalists in order to frame the CIA for his crimes. CIA Director O’Malley hires Vail to clean up the mess he inadvertently created by letting Radek live.
O’Malley partners Vail with Kate Bannon, another operative working for the agency.
Does Vail catch Radek?
During his mission, Vail and Bannon travel to Greece where Vail meets with Tye, a CIA station chief who just so happens to be one of his old flames.
Tye gives Vail intel about Sten, an accomplice of Radek, who may have information about Radek’s next target. They break into Sten’s home and find a clue to who that target is – a man named Alekos Melas. Unfortunately, they are too late to save him when they arrive at his location.
Later, Vail learns about Radek’s plan to assassinate Greek Foreign Minister Kostas. He arrives at the scene where Kostas is giving a speech and spots Radek posing as a photographer.
Vail is able to stop Radek from killing Kostas by hitting the platform Radek is standing on. This makes the assassin miss his shot.
In their final moment together, Vail apologizes to Radek for not saving his family. He then does what he should have done years before and kills Radek.
Who is working with Radek?
Vail thinks there is a CIA mole working with Radek, feeding him intel about the agency’s political targets. Initially, he thinks O’Malley might be the mole, as the director might have a vested interest in Radek taking out the people on the hit list.
However, the mole turns out to be Tye, who presumably wanted to benefit from Radek’s fortune. While she was pretending to help Vail catch Radek, she was actually slowing him down the whole time.
When Vail confronts her, she calls on her men to take Vail out. As he tackles them, Tye leaves the scene. She doesn’t get far, however, as Kate arrives and shoots her dead.
How does The Bricklayer end?
O’Malley is surprised his agents initially thought he was the mole but offers Kate a promotion regardless. She turns him down, as does Vail who decides to resume his job as a bricklayer instead of taking up another agency position.
Read More: The Bricklayer Movie Review