A Forgotten Pierce Brosnan And Salma Hayek Flop Is Killing It On Netflix

There aren't any filmmakers who want their movies to lose money and fade into obscurity, so it's probably comforting to know that the streaming era can give flops a new lease of life. Recently, John Cena and Alison Brie's "Freelance" soared to the top of Netflix's charts — two years after it bombed at the box office and got put on blast by critics. Similarly, Nicole Kidman's "Holland" has been killing it on Prime, despite being embraced with predominant negativity upon release.

What's more, some forgotten blasts from the past are also resonating with modern audiences. According to FlixPatrol, Brett Ratner's "After the Sunset" — a heist comedy starring Pierce Brosnan and Salma Hayek released in 2024 — has crept into Netflix's top 10 on August 5, sitting alongside some of the streaming service's original hits like "Happy Gilmore 2" and the animated gem "K-Pop Demon Hunters."

In the movie, Brosnan and Hayek play a pair of diamond thieves — and lovers — who find themselves being hunted by Stan Lloyd (Woody Harrelson), an FBI agent who is out to stop them from scoring big — at least until they are forced to bunk together and put their differences to one side. "After the Sunset" is a simple story that offers entertaining thrills, so it's understandable why Netflix viewers are gravitating toward it. However, critics weren't kind to the film following its release over 20 years ago — and audiences didn't show up to support it.

"After the Sunset" doesn't bring any new ideas to its genre, and during the early-to-mid 2000s, it had to live in the shadow of the much superior "Ocean's" franchise, which is arguably the quintessential heist saga. Not only that, but the dynamic between Pierce Brosnan and Woody Harrelson's characters is like a comedic take on Robert De Niro and Al Pacino's respective robber and cop pairing in Michael Mann's "Heat," a far superior movie, so don't go into it expecting things you haven't seen before.

This is essentially why critics hated the film back in the day. As of this writing, "After the Sunset" is scored at 18% on Rotten Tomatoes, with most of the negativity being attributed to the film's lack of originality and bland plot. What's more, the comedy caper earned $62 million on the back of a $60 million budget, further cementing its reputation as a forgettable dud, until now.

Despite the negative reviews, "After the Sunset" is a lighthearted, breezy affair with a top-notch cast and slick direction. It's also worth noting that some prominent critics were complimentary toward the film at the time of its release, with Roger Ebert describing it as a competently made time-passer, echoing the views of other pundits who didn't completely hate the flick. By no means is that the most glowing review ever, but sometimes, a basic time-passer is good enough. But hey, it's not even close to the worst thing associated with Brett Ratner.