"bella"

Director: James McTeigue

Writer: Ryan Engle

Cast: Gabrielle Union, Ajiona Alexus, Billy Burke and Richard Cabral

After the murder of her father Shaun Russell is forced to uproot her children and travel to her childhood home. Surrounded by acres of forest and equipped with a state of the art security system, the remote estate is a fortress. Not long after their arrival, the high-tech security system is breached leaving Shaun outside and her children inside held hostage by a band of thieves searching for a hidden safe. With her children held captive and their lives at stake, she will stop at nothing to save her babies. The odds aren’t in her favor, but this mother isn’t going down, without one hell of a fight.

Breaking In is an exciting new role for Gabrielle Union. Known mostly for romantic comedies and cable drama, this is Union’s first foray into the lead in an action thriller. Tapping into her some serious maternal instincts, she is a force to be reckoned with. Shaun Russell is a ferocious character, sharp-tongued and fierce, she is a fighter. At one point she even taps into her Spidey sense dangling precariously from a banister hiding in plain sight. Though much of the film shows Shaun as a bad ass, her movements and skill set aren’t farfetched or improbable. She’s not a navy seal, for heaven’s sake, she’s a desperate mother trying to save her kids.

Union’s familiarity and thrilling action sequences breathed life into a lackluster script. The one-liners and few jokes barely hit the mark.  There are also a few major holes in the story. For instance, the robbers basically tear the place apart searching for hidden treasure but somehow miss the most obvious room in the house. The safe was literally in the first place we would have looked. Also, why would someone go through the trouble of hiding millions in an impenetrable fortress just to tell their assistant?

The thieves were a motley crew of ex-cons just thrown together for this one heist. Why four people are needed for what is clearly a two-man job is not clear. The crew is a predictable bunch, featuring the four basic criminal types: A tech guy, a weakling, a psychopath, and a mastermind.  The psychopath was player by Richard Cabral who served up crazy cholo realness. He’s hot-headed and careless, the biggest threat to the children, especially the daughter. While he was perfectly creepy, he wasn’t the “muscle” one would expect. He’s scrawny but mean and aggressive like a stray pit bull. We’re pretty sure the kids could have taken him out given the right circumstances. The leader of the thieves was portrayed by Billy Burke. Twilight fans will remember him as Charlie Swan, Bella’s dad. As a mastermind, he leaves much to be desired. He was cool and calculated but the script didn’t give him any good lines. We were happy to see him finally get what he deserved, but not nearly as happy as we were to see the psychopath go.

Breaking In may have had a few holes in the script but it delivers pulse-pounding action in nearly every scene. The fights scenes are intense and impactful, keeping us thoroughly entertained throughout the nearly 90-minute film.

Since it’s Mother’s Day weekend, take your mom out to see this film.

Breaking In hits theaters this Friday!