Movie Review - Breaking In

Breaking In ** (out of 5) (PG-13) Here’s the deal. Mom (Gabrielle Union) takes her two kids to the country home of her recently-deceased father. He was some sort of criminal who gets whacked in the opening scene. The family has been estranged for many years. Their only reason for the visit is to prepare the place for sale. But four bad guys surprise them. They think the old man stashed $4 mil in a safe, and expected the house to be empty. That puts our protagonist trio in peril, with only mom’s innate toughness offering hope for survival.

It’s no spoiler for any reader who has ever seen one of endangered average woman, kid, family, etc. flicks to predict that this family will prevail. Never poke the momma bear, dudes. The outcome is always a matter of the How, not the If. Grandpa’s super high-tech security system is as much of a character here as any of the humans. Union’s efforts are par for this course, though director James McTeigue, who fared well at the helm of other action/suspense fare like V for Vendetta and The Raven, manages to make 88 minutes seem much longer. That makes the execution of the inevitable result more tedious than terrifying.

On the plus side, the home and its idyllic surroundings are terrific. Kudos to the location scouts. Casting Ajiona Alexus as the teen daughter was also a fine decision, since she not only looks like she could really be Union’s daughter, but handles her role skillfully. Her future will surely include better roles in better films.
(5/11/18)