One thing you can always guarantee from Netflix is that regardless of what the streaming service’s latest in-house genre film is, it’ll always spend its first weekend nestled at the upper end of the Top 10 most-watched list. It doesn’t matter whether it’s action, thriller, horror, sci-fi or anything in between, it’s a fact of life that subscribers crave something new on a Friday.
Last week is was itchy high concept French horror The Swarm, and this week the honor has fallen to Beckett. A stripped down, bare bones chase film, the likes of which we don’t see much of anymore from Hollywood’s biggest outfits, the plot is both straightforward and complicated. John David Washington’s title hero survives a tragic accident but sees something he soon realizes he wasn’t supposed to, forcing him on the run across Greece as shady forces try to take him out in an effort to prevent him from unraveling a conspiracy he can barely even comprehend.
It’s a neat and efficient little manhunt story that isn’t particularly striking or flashy, but it’s a decent enough way to spend 108 minutes of your time. Reviews have been mixed across the board, though, with Beckett holding a so-so Rotten Tomatoes score of 51%, and audiences have rated it lower at 34%.
Maybe it’s the lack of what you’d call ‘standard’ thriller elements like big shootouts, fistfights and car chases, but Beckett has still drawn in enough of an audience to rank as the third most-watched title on Netflix at the time of writing, but the lukewarm critical reactions could indicate that it might suffer a tumble down the most-watched list once the initial curiosity factor has worn off.