Although it is not their best-known collaboration, the Brad Pitt and George Clooney movie Burn After Reading recently arrived on Netflix and it’s one of the pair’s most underrated projects. Brad Pitt and George Clooney have appeared in a string of movies together throughout their screen careers, including three outings of the Ocean’s 11 franchise. The pair will soon team up again for the exciting action comedy Wolfs, a buddy comedy about two lone wolf fixers who struggle to work together when they are hired for the same job. This makes the timing of one of Netflix’s new arrivals perfect.

Brad Pitt's Chad Feldheimer grins in the closet in Burn After Reading

Pitt and Clooney’s history of screen collaborations began in 2001 with Ocean’s 11, a remake of 1960’s Rat Pack crime comedy caper of the same name. Before the duo reunited for 2005’s sequel Ocean’s 12, Pitt and Clooney collaborated again on 2002’s satirical thriller Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. This Sam Rockwell vehicle was written and directed by Clooney, who starred in the movie and gave Pitt a small role. The duo graced the screen again in 2007’s Ocean’s 13 and had one other collaboration before both stars played small roles in John Krasinski’s 2024 fantasy comedy IF.

Burn After Reading Is Now On Netflix – Why It’s An Underrated Pitt & Clooney Movie

Clooney and Pitt’s Pitch Black Satirical Comedy Wasn’t Appreciated Upon Release

Brad Pitt's Chad reads from a post it while on the phone in Burn After Reading

2008’s Burn After Reading is not only a great showcase for Pitt and Clooney’s superb comedic timing, but also one of the sharpest political satires of the new millennium. Since the blackly comic thriller was released only a year after the deservedly acclaimed No Country For Old Men, Burn After Reading never gained the same critical attention as some of the best Coen brothers movies. However, the scathing satire is overdue a reappraisal. With a starry cast that includes Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, JK Simmons, Tilda Swinton, and Richard Jenkins, Burn After Reading is an underrated gem.

The plot follows a pair of gym workers who attempt to profit off a bitter former CIA analyst’s memoirs when they mistake his first draft for priceless political intel. This results in an increasingly silly, bloody shaggy dog story that makes a perfect companion piece to No Country For Old Men. Burn After Reading’s acerbic satirical critique of the American intelligence community wasn’t appreciated upon release, possibly due to the many lazy satire movies that flooded multiplexes after the invasion of Iraq. This is a shame since Burn After Reading is a pointed piece of political commentary that has only gotten better with age.

Why Now Is A Great Time To Watch Brad Pitt & George Clooney In Burn After Reading

The Upcoming Release of Wolfs Makes A Burn After Reading Re-watch Necessary

George Clooney and Brad Pitt shooting guns in Wolfs

Since the upcoming Ocean’s 11 prequel won’t feature Clooney or Pitt, there is no better time for viewers to revisit Burn After Reading. Judging by its trailer, 2024’s Wolfs will be a funnier, less brutal comedy that leans into action, whereas the Coen Brothers effort was more interested in paranoid satire. While Wolfs looks like a lot of fun, viewers who want to see the darker side of Pitt and Clooney’s shared sense of humor will need to seek out this underrated effort instead. Those who do watch Burn After Reading will be rewarded with one of Brad Pitt and George Clooney’s best-kept secrets.