Breaking In (2018)

User Review

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  TheMovieDiorama

  4 / 10

  Breaking In feels broken even before breaking into its generic thrilling stride. Thriller. Easily my favourite genre in all of cinema. There's something invigorating about sitting on the edge of your seat, chomping at your fingernails as you glance at the unpredictable nature of the story that unfolds. But as of late, lesser disposable thrillers are frequently being produced because it's cheap with easy profits. Breaking In unfortunately falls into the latter. A mother and her two children move into a deceased relative's mansion, only to be confronted by a group of burglars who are seeking a safe stacked with money. So the mother, has to break into her own house, to save the children. If you have seen any home invasion, thievery or unstoppable mother thrillers, then you know exactly how this story will pan out. It's just a predictable generic film that feels like it was produced as a TV movie. Y'know that vibe, where the directing is so mediocre (amateur zoom ins, constant quick cuts, overuse of basic techniques) and the acting is incredibly one dimensional. I applaud Gabrielle Union for a committed central performance as a mother who's desperation transforms her from fearful to fearless. I also admired the utilisation of the environment surrounding the house, how the characters use the fortress-like security system against each other. However the narrative is just riddled with frequent plot conveniences that made me question "how did she know that was there?". Given the extremely short runtime, there was no space for character development for the children and antagonists. Speaking of the latter, each member was so predictably cliché where we have one doubting his own motives, a crazy lunatic and a leader who speaks like a narrator. "Ah yes, the mother no longer fears us. She is desperate. Something I cannot control.". Alright, pipe down with your psychology degree, jeez. Did I hate this? Absolutely not. An incredibly watchable thriller, just one that I will forget thirty minutes after viewing it. What I do want though, is a drone. Those things look cool.

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