313. Breaking In ; movie review

BREAKING IN
Cert 15
86 mins
BBFC advice: Contains sustained threat, strong violence

Ok, the format is not that new - high-tech house, invaders and family fighting for their lives.
Breaking In has a lot in common with the first version of The Purge - in a good way.
This is an intense thriller which, had me enthralled despite some wafer-thin characters and dodgy dialogue.
Perhaps this summer has been so devoid of good movies that I am getting desperate to be entertained and, consequently, my marking has become more generous than it would have been at the beginning of the year.
Anyway, James McTeigue's film stars Gabrielle Union as a mum who reluctantly has to sell the home of her estranged father after he is mowed down in a hit and run.
She is surprised by the Fort Knox-style security systems but it still triggers childhood memories and there is plenty of space for her surly teenage daughter (Ajiona Alexus) and inquisitive son (Seth Carr) to spend the weekend.
However, almost as soon as they arrive, they are confronted by violent robbers who have been tipped off about $4m in the house's safe.
The raiders may be ruthless but they have counted without a mother who is determined to protect her offspring.
Billy Burke plays the leader of the quartet of former prison inmates who have their sights set on becoming millionaires.
He is the brightest of the bunch and most adept at the mind games required to mentally sword-fence with his desperate adversary.
Richard Cabral's character has no such niceties and lets a sharp blade do the talking.
But the real star of Breaking In is director McTeigue who has turned a $6m budget movie into a $50m box office hit.
He has little to go on other than a house and a little-known cast and yet has created a film which certainly had me riveted throughout.
And there should be a shout out for the athleticism of Union and the believability of her young co-stars.
I'm afraid the villains are typical of a thousand big-screen baddies and the violence did make me grimace a couple of times but you can't have everything.

Reasons to watch: Edge-of seat-thriller
Reasons to avoid: Bloody violence

Laughs: None
Jumps: One
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7/10

Director quote - James McTeigue: "The thing that makes her a great protagonist is that she is just a mom who, in her day-to-day life has to do versions of what she does in the film - and that is being strong, being smart and protecting her kids."

The big question - Do people really gain superhuman strength when they are faced with life-or-death situations?

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