Breathe

At first glance, the film seems very interesting and Breathe has a great cast on board to become a good film. Starring, we see Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, she received the prestigious figurine in 2007 for her adjoring role in the film Dreamgirls. Quvenzhané Wallis was even nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress for the film Beasts of the Southern Wild in 2013, even becoming the youngest nominee ever in this category at the age of 9 years and 135 days. In addition, we see Milla Jovovich, who of course we all know from films like Resident Evil and The Fifth Element and for dessert we get Sam Worthington, who played Sully in James Cameron's Avatar- films and also has a laundry list of fine films to his name. There is also a (small) role for rapper Common in the film, which also played roles in John Wick: Chapter 2 and Wanted from 2008. The papers are basically good and the story also sounds very interesting. Still, if you see the trailer, this will probably make you doubt, because that looks rather cheap with the red/orange filter.

And unfortunately the trailer was right, because although the first reviews of this film were not too good and this is perhaps a bit very exaggerated, the film is just not good. Especially Sam Worthington, who plays the role of Lucas, really plays an extremely bad role in this film and he probably only played this role for the money and didn't really feel like it. Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson plays mom Maya who is left alone with her daughter Zora (who invents these names by the way) when father Darius disappears without a trace when he wants to bury his father. Hudson does her thing dutifully and doesn't know how to impress or anything like that. Quvenzhané Wallis, who therefore plays the role of Zora, makes a bit of an attempt and perhaps she plays the best role in the film, although we should not exaggerate that either. That remains Milla Jovovich, who plays the role of Tess, who just does her thing and nothing more actually.

The story is put together too simple and you get to see a 'home invasion' movie, where you actually know from the first minute what is going to happen. Not much attempt is made to disguise the course a bit or make it exciting. Here and there the film eventually becomes a bit entertaining when Maya and Tess go out and Lucas and Zora are left alone. In the end, the film will go exactly as you think it will go. The end really makes no sense at all and above all that gives the feeling that the whole fight has been completely for nothing. When Tess and Lucas travel all the way to New York from Philadelphia to watch and get their hands on an oxygen machine, they really had discovered what happened in the end and that gives the film a full stab in the back. Fortunately, the film lasts an hour and a half, but even that still feels like a pure waste of time.

Breathe has unfortunately become what the trailer already suggests, a pure B- film that tries to tear on a few names. Although the story has a lot of potential and sounds very interesting, you eventually get to see a cheap 'home invasion' movie. Here and there the film is still a bit entertaining, but if actually rapper Common puts down one of the best roles with his very small role in the film, you already know enough. How these kinds of films eventually manage to make a cinema internationally is really a mystery, in the past this had ended up directly in the video libraries. Don't be fooled by names like Sam Worthington or Milla Jovovich and don't be tempted at all that the two protagonists have been an Oscar winner and an Oscar nominee, because this film is simply not worth going to a cinema. For the really curious among us, you can wait for the movie to come to a streaming service or so and even then the movie is just not good.

Seemed promising but quickly makes no sense at all.... The character zora seems litteraly stupid, smart enough tobuild machines, incapable to understand that survival comes by being careful. Incredible that living in a post apocalyptic world some one would keep a spoilt brat attitude.

The grandfather takes pointless risks to get a book, and the father takes pointless risks to burry his family member so far away.... Seems like Darwin awards, what did they learn over the past 4 years of survival...

Protect their loved ones stay alive, be suspicious, when you are the only ones to have infinte oxygen... They learnt nothing, aside from the mother who had common sense.

The enemy characters made no sense.

I had not heard about this 2024 action thriller titled "Breathe" prior to sitting down to watch it. But I figured that I would give the movie a fair chance, since it was a movie that I hadn't already seen, and plus it had Milla Jovovich on the cast list, which counted for something.

I will say that the concept idea behind the script had a lot of potential to it. However, the execution from script to screen left much to be desired. I had great difficulties buying into the movie, especially since it was supposed to be an oxygen-less world, but it just didn't have that feel to it. So writer Doug Simon didn't exactly deliver anything that was worth writing home about.

There were a couple of familiar faces on the cast list, with the likes of Milla Jovovich, Sam Worthington, Dan Martin, James Saito and Common. I will say that the acting performances in "Breathe" were good.

Visually then "Breathe" wasn't a particularly impressive movie. Sure, it was passable for what it was, but you're not in for anything grand here. And I guess the orange filter that the movie had to it, whenever we looked at outdoors scenes helped to mask brighter colors of green and such that we would otherwise have seen on foliage throughout the course of the movie.

I am sure that there is an audience out there for a movie such as "Breathe", however, I have to admit that director Stefon Bristol didn't impress me with this movie.

My rating of "Breathe" lands on a generous three out of ten stars. The movie just felt like a half-hearted project.

In dreary, poorly performed near-future sci-fi "Breathe" Jennifer Hudson & over-confident teen daughter Quvenzhané Wallis live alone (months after hubbie / dad Common left them) in empty post-apocalyptic NY, struggling in the barren planet's devastated atmosphere - til Milla Jojovich, Sam Worthington & Raúl Castillo turn up asking about their oxygen machine... but are the gun-toting visitors' intentions good or bad? Cue tediously repetitive to & fro 'trust them or not' flawed sequences all leading to a wholly implausible short-cut ending. Doug Simon's lame screenplay is chiefly to blame, but Stefon Bristol's stressed direction doesn't help. Disappointing fare. A turd. Flush it.

1st star is for Common... I don't know what it is, but there is an Aura around this man. I enjoy his presence and he gave A LOT to the story, with a ridiculously short screen time screen. He is a GREAT actor, who, in this movie, deserved a lot more relevance and presence.

2nd star is for the story. Well thought.

3rd star, for the scenery... yes, it's CGI, amd yes, it's fake, but GREAT set!

I can compare this one to the Sci-Fi movie of Will Smith and his son... the kid is an idiot! Too much part for him, too little part for his father.

It's the same here... bratty kid who messes all up just to make a stand with the stupid cliche that parents are wrong and kids know it all!

Sam Worthington is another very good actor who plays a GREAT part in the movie... his talent fits the character like a glove! Avatar is a stain in his career, because he is much more than that simpleton, blue people blob.

All in all, this movie would, could and should, have been a lot better with more Common, more action (they had plenty of room to work it in there), less drama, and the totally expandable and annoying kid.

The ending turns out to be as predictable as the movie itself. It entertains, but it's a deception all throughout...