SCORE: 9.2/10
"There was no bomb". Heartbreaking words. This was a simple, well executed true story about a man named Brian Brown-Easley, played by John Boyega. The story speaks for itself, but John Boyega elevates it to a different level with his performance. Apparently, the film was originally called 892 and then later changed to Breaking, which I appreciate from a Marketing perspective, but after seeing it I really wish they would've kept the original title. $892.34. When Brian revealed that amount of money the VA owed him, a resounding laugh filled the theater, as the filmmaking presented an opportunity for people to find humor in the "small" amount of money he was willing to hold hostages for. This film taught many lessons, mainly not to mess with someone's money or livelihood, but the response of the people around me made me realize just how privileged people are. $892.34 may be a laughable amount to some people, but when living paycheck to paycheck, any sum of money could be the difference between living a normal life and homelessness.
One of the biggest things our world lacks today is empathy. Empathy requires the ability to stop thinking about oneself and put oneself in someone else's shoes. One of the things I absolutely loved about this film was how many different perspectives the audience member was able to have throughout the course of the movie. Whether it was from the vantage point of the bank employees, the authorities, Brian's family, or even Brian himself, the film did a great job of keeping me on the edge of my seat thinking about what was going on and where it was going to lead. Brian may have been the nicest bank robber I've seen in any movie, and the occasional jokes thrown in there pretty much all hit and didn't feel forced.
Lastly, I don't really have much experience with the Military or Veterans, but it broke my heart for the last thing to pop up on the screen to see that his family still did not receive the money. Not only that, but of course we discover the fate of Brian, as he was shot and killed by a sniper bullet. The man who shot the bullet was advised not to, but took matter into his own hands and was found not guilty, as he acted within the law. Anytime a movie is based on a true story, it gives me the opportunity to research after about things in the story that were true and things that were hyperbolized for the sake of cinema. At first glance, it looks like almost all of it was accurate, and the outfit used for John Boyega was almost copied exactly from the security footage the day of the real event.
