‘Breaking In’ won’t break box office
THERE is one perfect moment in Breaking In that one goes to see a movie like this for and it comes relatively early on. Gabrielle Union’s character, Shaun, has found herself under attack in the driveway where she’d been attempting to order pizza for her two kids. She’s unaware that her son and daughter have already been grabbed by the home invaders. She’s shoeless, surprised and on interminable hold with the pizza place when the attack happens. But, she also has just accidentally broken her wine glass and, so, as resourceful ladies are wont to do, stabs the guy in the chest with the stem.
Thankfully she’d had the chance to gulp down the contents first considering what comes next, which, might actually not be a bad idea for the audience either. Happy Mother’s Day, folks, your house is under attack and your kids are being held hostage. Are your “mama bear” instincts up to the task? It’s not a bad idea and Union proves more than capable of nailing her Liam Neeson/bruce Willis moment of save-your-family action stardom, but the movie has trouble sustaining interest even over its brisk 88 minutes. Directed by James Mcteigue and written by Ryan Engle, Breaking In is basically Panic Room in reverse, but less clever and thrilling than that Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart yarn. In Breaking In, Shaun and her son Glover (Seth some belongings and meet the real-estate agent. “This place is a fortress,” someone actually says as they explore the intense security system that her tech-savvy son explains is so easy to use that even mom could do it.
Shaun’s father dies in the opening scene in an intentional hit-and-run, amid a barely explained criminal investigation. But no one seems to care or be too curious about that, plus Shaun’s been estranged from her father for years. It’s why the four burglars assumed that there won’t be anyone in the house when they pick this night to find a safe that they’ve been told contains $4 million in cash. Why they couldn’t just come back another night instead of getting themselves involved in an escalating hostage crisis isn’t something the movie is interested in exploring, either. – AP