“Breaking,” formerly titled “892,” is a limp riff on “Dog Day Afternoon.” Based on the true story of Marine Veteran Brian Brown-Easley (John Boyega) who was denied support from Veteran’s Affairs, and decided to take a bank and several of its employees hostage, this is a film devoid of tension.
Setting the stage for a tense confrontation with the police, Boyega’s Brown-Easly is thinly created, a distanced enigma who decides to perpetrate an Atlanta bank siege in 2017. Reading the Wikipedia entry for this real-life story is more exciting than watching its cinematic interpretation.
The film fares better when the chief negotiator, a fellow Marine vet played by the late, great Michael Kenneth Williams, comes into the equation. It’s the final performance from the actor known best for his visceral work in “The Wire.”
Director Abi Damaris Corbin has a lot to say about modern America, but she crams too many ideas into her screenplay. The result is rather obvious and pedantic. “Breaking” turns out to be far more predictable than Williams intended it to be. Yes, the system is broken, but the stylish flair by which she goes about telling the story buries her movie into the ground. [D]