Breaking

It's hard to call a movie based on a true story uninspiring or flat out boring because it's a depiction of the actual events and if it's dramatized it moves towards fiction, away from the truth. But this really was not interesting, and the worst part is John Boyega put out what is probably his best performance yet, and in one of his last performances before his passing, Michael Kenneth Williams also did his character justice... but the story just wasn't good enough. You're thrown into the middle of the plot and without any character development, expected to somehow care about the character. It's a heartbreaking story sure, but it's not captivating enough and pretty predictable especially since you hear all throughout the movie how exactly it's going to end, repeated over and over. Three movies premiered tonight and I couldn't watch all of them 'cause of the timings so I opted for this, and after nearly two hours I regret it; somebody loudly sighed "that's it?" when the credits rolled and the whole theatre mumbled in agreement. It was a realistic take on true events, but it lacked any suspense or thrill to keep you interested, no matter how sad the situation the marine war vet was in. It's sad an important message won't get the delivery it deserves. Also, John Boyega gave me Denzel Washington vibes in this.

Solid drama based on the true story of an ex-Marine who took over a Georgia bank in 2017 threatening to blow it and a pair employees up with a bomb. The soldier, Brian Brown-Easley, played by John Boyega has been caught up in a dispute with The Veteran's Administration. At wit's end, he decides that making a spectacle will get the attention of the media.

Director and Co-Writer Abi Damaris Corbin sets up the situation in a fairly straightforward manner. The emphasis is clearly on Brown-Easley as the movie methodically shows the hours leading up to the takeover. As the situation escalates, we get more glimpses of his ex-wife and child. The two bank employees provide an element of immediate endangerment. Nicole Beharie is particularly good as the calm but determined manager as is the late Michael K. Williams as the hostage negotiator.

When the movie moves past the immediate hostage situation inside the bank, the script gets a bit more dicey. The point of view and background details get a bit muddled. The acting holds it together, but, a more directed narrative would have tightened the suspense all the more. Brown-Easley's story did all too briefly cast a light on military veterans' plight, but, alas, the moment passed soon after the situation was finalized.

BREAKING is good calling card for Corbin, and Boyega's performance should lead to more opportunities outside the Star Wars/sci-fi universe.

Escalate or diffuse ? Overwhelming force or appropriate response to a human being in crisis ? The reviews here are not that positive ; I disagree.

This is a poignant story rendered capably and one that keeps the story moving and interesting not to mention outstanding acting by all the characters portrayed. That's the point of my review , a movie with a compelling story. If you are up for fantasy and 'cartoon' movies , then look elsewhere. If you up for a real movie , by all means go to see this one. The story is different but it reminds me of the Clint Eastwood produced movie :' Richard Jewel' and , that was, IMO a good movie . And please remember when you see a one star review to click on the link for the user of the the one star review because more often than not it is a one and done user review in other words , a troll posting a bad review and to put it mildly : insincere, sincerely yours an actual person who watched the movie and posted in my imdb blog .

I was privileged enough to see this as part of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and it was decent. My biggest praise for this film is the performances. All of them are great especially John Boyega. I've only seen him in the sequel trilogy where he doesn't have a lot to do so it was really fun seeing him finally have the spotlight and he does a fantastic job here. Michael K. Williams and Nicole Beharie do a fantastic job as well here. Another big plus here is the message about how we treat veterans when they come home. It's awful how the government treats our veterans and that is what the movie is trying to tell here and it really works at the end. My main issues with this film were its presentation. None of the technical aspects of the film stand out at all. The cinematography and music are fine. The editing is fine. All of it is fine but it could be better. They also had this ugly filter on whenever Michael K. Williams is on screen. The film's tension is pretty good though. There were definitely points especially at the end where I could really feel nervous about the characters. This is based on a true story so most people know what happened but you still feel your heart racing towards the end. There were times though when the film was trying to be tense and it just didn't come through for me. I would recommend checking this out whenever the film hits theaters if you're interested in Boyega or the story this film is based on.

Based on a tragically unnecessary true event, Breaking is not a feel-good movie. But it also didn't feel like a waste of time, as it shone the spotlight on a long-standing issue with the U. S. government and the far too many times it lets its veterans down, driving many of them to take desperate measures such as suicide, among other things. One of those "other things" is demonstrated in this film as it tells the story of the 2017 bank hostage event carried out by a former Marine Corps veteran, Brian Brown-Easley, who is in financial trouble (due to the VA not carrying through with assistance) and decides to rob a bank. But it's not a typical bank robbery. He just wants the VA to deliver to him what they owe. You can imagine the rest of the story. This is equal parts infuriating and heartbreaking. John Boyega pulls off a solid performance here, as always, and it was bittersweet to see Michael Kenneth Williams in what was one of his final roles. Recommended.