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Breaking

Breaking

Crime · Drama · Thriller · 2022

Desperate for money and running out of options, Marine veteran Brian Brown-Easley holds several people hostage inside a bank, setting the stage for a tense confrontation with police.

Movie details

Breaking

“Based on the true story of one man's demand to be heard.”

2022 Crime · Drama · Thriller 1h 43m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

Desperate for money and running out of options, Marine veteran Brian Brown-Easley holds several people hostage inside a bank, setting the stage for a tense confrontation with police.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Breaking?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Dead Man's Wire

Dead Man's Wire

Crime · 2026

In 1977, former real estate developer Tony Kiritsis puts a dead man's switch on himself and the mortgage banker who did him wrong, demanding $5 million and a personal apology.

King Ivory

King Ivory

Crime · 2025

Based on extensive research involving law enforcement and gang members, a never-before-seen, authentic look inside the underworld of fentanyl trafficking from gangs inside the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester a.k.a. "Big Mac."

The Last Stop in Yuma County

The Last Stop in Yuma County

Crime · 2024

While awaiting the next fuel truck at a middle-of-nowhere Arizona rest stop, a traveling young knife salesman is thrust into a high-stakes hostage situation by the arrival of two similarly stranded bank robbers with no qualms about using cruelty—or cold, hard steel—to protect their bloodstained, ill-gotten fortune.

Inside Man

Inside Man

Crime · 2006

When an armed, masked gang enter a Manhattan bank, lock the doors and take hostages, the detective assigned to effect their release enters negotiations preoccupied with corruption charges he is facing.

Dog Day Afternoon

Dog Day Afternoon

Crime · 1975

Based on the true story of would-be Brooklyn bank robbers John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile. Sonny and Sal attempt a bank heist which quickly turns sour and escalates into a hostage situation and stand-off with the police. As Sonny's motives for the robbery are slowly revealed and things become more complicated, the heist turns into a media circus.

Dogville

Dogville

Crime · 2003

A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town, she learns that their support has a price.

STRAW

STRAW

Thriller · 2025

What will be her last straw? A devastatingly bad day pushes a hardworking single mother to the breaking point — and into a shocking act of desperation.

Panic Room

Panic Room

Crime · 2002

Trapped in their New York brownstone's panic room, a hidden chamber built as a sanctuary in the event of break-ins, newly divorced Meg Altman and her young daughter Sarah play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with three intruders - Burnham, Raoul and Junior - during a brutal home invasion. But the room itself is the focal point because what the intruders really want is inside it.

Cleveland Abduction

Cleveland Abduction

Crime · 2015

A single mother becomes Ariel Castro's first kidnapping victim, and finds herself trapped in his home with two other women for 11 years.

Wardriver

Wardriver

Thriller · 2026

He’s a Wardriver: a hacker who steals from banks, not people—until he’s noticed. Now the money turns violent, and the woman caught in it could save him or kill them both.

Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Abi Damaris Corbin

Written by

Abi Damaris Corbin · Kwame Kwei-Armah

John Boyega

John Boyega

Brian Brown-Easley

Michael Kenneth Williams

Michael Kenneth Williams

Eli Bernard

Nicole Beharie

Nicole Beharie

Estel Valerie

Connie Britton

Connie Britton

Lisa Larson

Selenis Leyva

Selenis Leyva

Rosa Diaz

Jeffrey Donovan

Jeffrey Donovan

Major Riddick

Olivia Washington

Olivia Washington

Cassandra Brown-Easley

Court is in session

Put Breaking on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.