Sadly, Breaking really didn’t work for me over the long haul. It clearly has its heart in the right place and tries very hard, but I think either it’s pacing, structure, or devotion to reality got in the way and slowed it all down.

The flick is the true story of a desperate vet who takes over a bank in order to bring attention to how the VA is screwing him over.

The film starts very strong and I thought it was going to be a great taut thriller. But as time stretches out, very little seems to happen. I suspect this sluggish pacing and apparent lack of forward movement isn’t an issue with the directing or editing. I think maybe they are trying to show us how a real hostage scenario goes down… this isn’t Hollywood, this is an inefficient system operating at government speed.

If that’s what the movie is trying, then I give it credit. But that doesn’t make it a thrilling account. I appreciate the effort and I appreciate the acting, and it’s hard for me to say it needs to be more exciting when it’s a true story. But there had to be more they could have done to make the film work better.

But, hey, at least they tried and they got the true story out and that’s worth something.

Score: 72