Breaking In - Review - Mind on Movies

Breaking In is in theaters on May 11th, 2018.

After the passing of her father, Shaun Russell (played by Gabrielle Union) and her children (played by Ajiona Alexus and Seth Carr) drive to her childhood home to sell it. Everything starts out fine, until four men break in to her home while locking her children inside. Now she will do anything to reunite with her children again.

This film is directed by James McTeigue who started off great with “V for Vendetta”...but with more recent works like 2009’s “Ninja Assassin” his track record is going down hill. And 2018’s “Breaking In” does not help his resume. To start, this film has been done many times before. And films like “The Purge” and “The Strangers” doing this same concept so much better, I do not understand why this was made. And the writing is horrible. Every character in this film is senseless and everything that happens is far too convenient. And this movie is so predictable. You can tell something will happen about ten minutes before it actually happens. Now diving into the cast, it feels like they are all phoning it in. Gabrielle Union (who has been previously seen in “Bad Boys II” and “Bring It On” seems like she knows this will be a bad movie and just goes for it. The children in this film are even worse. They are constantly saying the horrible lines of dialogue in the most annoying way.

Now I am just starting to nitpick, but there were a few other things that bothered me. First, there were some really bad shots in this film. Also at some points at night, it was so dark that it was hard to tell what was going on...especially during the darker scenes. Editing wise, the film was so choppy and the cuts were so hard that it never gave you a chance to breathe. Someone would say their line and before the character can comprehend what the other person said, they will say their line. And this last thing happens in many action movies and just bothers me. But why do guns in film have unlimited ammo? I swear the villain of this film probably shot off about twenty-five rounds without adding a new magazine. It just doesn't make sense.

To conclude this review, it is obvious that I did not like this film. But I cannot stress enough to avoid this movie. With the bad acting and stupid screenplay it is a waste of time. There are so many alternative home invasion movies that handle this concept better, I would highly recommend not seeing this film. And if you really want to see it, just wait till it hits VOD or cable.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Cabell (Contributor) is a filmmaker from Tampa, Florida. He will watch just about any film but when he's not reviewing the latest hits he spends time directing films of his own.
Click Here to check out Cabell's Articles.

Gabrielle Union plays Shaun, a mother of two who goes back to house she grew up in after her father passes away. She’s trying to sell the place as her father was a criminal and she didn’t have a relationship with him. When she gets there she realizes that the house has a top of the line security system and begins to wonder why. Shaun is outside when a couple Thieves - led by Eddie (Billy Burke) break into the house and hold the kids hostage. Shaun does everything she can to get back inside and save her kids.

I had high hopes for this one but the writing, delivery, dialogue, and even the story just failed in so many ways. As you’re watching the film there were so many times and so many things that could’ve been done to get the police to the house. It was just too cheesy for me.

Might be a good movie if you like films that upset you?

Rating: 2.0 out of 5

Ashley K. (Contributor) is a frequent traveler currently living in San Diego. She's a super nerd who enjoys all kinds of movies and doesn't always think the book was better.
Click Here to check out Ashley K's Articles.