If you look at director James McTeigue’s body of work throughout his career, you’d see that he’s all over the place. He made his directorial debut with a surprise action sci-fi drama called V for Vendetta (2005). He followed that up with some lesser-known, and widely panned releases such as Ninja Assassin (2009), The Raven (2012) and Survivor (2015). While each of these movies had some entertainment value, they were best served being viewed on a Saturday afternoon while flipping through channels and looking to kill a couple of hours just existing. And Gabrielle Union isn’t exactly the first name that comes to mind when you’re thinking about what actor would be a fitting female lead in a family thriller. Yet, here we are with Breaking In, helmed by McTeigue and starring Gabrielle Union.
After the unexpected death of her estranged father, Shaun Russell (Gabrielle Union) makes her way to the home that she grew up in but hasn’t stepped foot into in years. With her children Jasmine (Ajiona Alexus) and Glover (Seth Carr) along for the ride, Shaun is looking for a clean break from the memories of the man that has caused her so much pain. She aims to put the house up for sale as soon as possible. When she arrives to the massive property, she notices that there have been several upgrades made, namely a security system that would rival that of a large corporation. Shaun also notices a few other oddities that don’t raise red flags…JUST YET.
Unbeknownst to Russells, they are not alone in the house and soon they will be in a fight to just survive the night. Shaun’s father had many secrets, and his biggest on of all could lead to a deadly family reunion that Shaun will fight tooth and nail to prevent from happening. As Breaking In opens up, more of this sorted story is revealed as Shaun is immediately transformed into a deadly protective mama bear.
Like all promising thrillers, Breaking In starts off with a bang and looks to lure audiences in with a layered story of mystery and deception. Billy Burke stars as Eddie, the main villain of the story. With the help of three henchmen (Richard Cabral, Levi Meaden, Mark Furze) to assist in their crime, these four cons will do anything to attain their goal, even kill. And just like any scared mother protecting her young, Shaun will do anything and everything to keep her babies out of harm’s way. Something will give on this fateful night, and after seeing this movie, I’m going to take a wild guess and say it’s going to be your patience.
The story starts to breakdown the more that the full plot is revealed and it becomes one ridiculous thing after another. Still though, there is entertainment to be had as the layers are peeled back. Sadly, the train jumps the track during the last quarter of the movie causing viewers to eye-roll and chuckle as cheesy lines and inconsistency come crashing to the forefront. With a runtime of only about 95 minutes, Breaking In breaks down and starts to spin its wheels. And once that connection is broken, viewers will turn on this movie and start to see the farce for what it really is.
As movies to see on Mother’s Day weekend goes, I wouldn’t call Breaking In my first choice but I will concede that it does have its moments, however brief they may be. You can check out the Gabrielle Union-led thriller in theaters now.
