Sandy Kenyon reviews 'Breaking In,' starring Gabrielle Union
MANHATTAN, New York City (WABC) -- The idea behind "Breaking In" is not original, but I enjoyed it a lot.
Humphrey Bogart terrorized a suburban family in "The Desperate Hours" before I was born, but "Breaking In" is stylish and short, with a strong woman at its core.
"Just want to make it through the weekend and come home," says Gabrielle Union's character, Shaun, an alpha mom who will go to any lengths to protect her kids, telling her tormentors, "You have no idea what I'm capable of."
Her family has been placed in harm's way by her father, who turns up dead in the opening minutes.
Shaun has inherited her dad's big house, where she grew up, and now wants to sell it. But first, she must survive one scary night inside with her son and daughter.
It is scary because a gang got there before them, breaking in to look for a stash of cash.
Union's character may be alone and at their mercy, but she is also very resourceful and angry.
The scariest of the gang is played by Richard Cabral, who tells the ringleader, "We should've killed them the moment they walked in here."
Cabral is one of the most interesting actors working today. In a previous life, he was a gang member and drug dealer who served a prison term for assault with a deadly weapon.
"Art saved my life," Cabral told KABC-TV in 2016. "It literally saved my life to be able to tell stories, to be able to take the pain and destruction, and turn it into something beautiful."
He is so menacing that it's enough to give you nightmares, but scary as he and the others seem, I knew this family had what it took to pull through.
You might be tempted to wait and watch this on video, especially given how much it costs to go see a movie these days. But given this is Mother's Day weekend, "Breaking In" might be just the ticket to celebrate the strong mom in your life and have a lot of fun at the same time.
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