Breach – Movie Review (2/5)

BREACH is a new sci-fi action movie made in a B-movie 90s retro style. Personally, I wanted it to be more kitsch and campy to work. Instead, it has virtually no plot and few interesting characters – though this movie has a huge cast. Read our full Breach movie review here!

BREACH is a new sci-fi action movie that sounds very interesting on paper – especially due to a cast full of familiar faces. Also, it’s made in a 90s retro style that comes across more like a B-movie. Still, this could easily have worked to the movie’s advantage if it had gone all out kitsch and campy instead of taking a more serious route.

Alas, just one of the missed opportunities for this movie that has many familiar moments but does little to carve out any unique moments. Sure, there is a sort of “zombies in space” vibe to it. And the CGI does seem to be intentionally kitsch (or so I hope!), but its 92-minute runtime feels way longer.

Continue reading our Breach movie review below. On IMDb, the movie is still listed – as of writing this review – under its original title of Anti-Life.

B-movie with big-name recognition

With a cast headed by Bruce Willis (Die Hard, Glass), there is a definite big-name recognition advantage for Breach. Thomas Jane (Stephen King’s 1922 on Netflix) and Rachel Nichols (The Amityville Horror, 2005) are just a few other of the familiar faces you’ll see in this movie.

Cody Kearsley plays the lead character, Noah, and he’s yet another actor you might recognize. Most recently, he’s been in both the Netflix series Daybreak and in the Riverdale series. In Breach, he plays a character so ordinary, I almost forget him as soon as the credits began. This is not due to Cody Kearsley’s performance but simply because the plot is so messy.

Actually, the big surprise in terms of characters came from Australian actor Kassandra Clementi who plays Hayley. She’s a very pregnant woman, whose father has a key position on the spaceship. No, not the Bruce Willis character, since he’s more of a janitor type.

An offhand comment about Hayley (Kassandra Clementi) having left West Point due to her pregnancy turns out to be important later. Let’s just say she really kicks ass and is pretty damn cool.

Go kitsch or go home!

Out of all the actors in this movie, the only one who seems to be playing his character in an all-out kitsch way is Thomas Jane. I mean, he is wearing sunglasses to come across as a total badass… while on a spaceship. Now that I can understand and appreciate. That’s how you do kitsch and this is what could have made the movie work.

Okay, and also the abovementioned Kassandra Clementi, who isn’t in nearly enough scenes.

Sure, you can argue that Bruce Willis is doing a sort of “John McClane in Space”, but calling it kitsch or campy would be going way too far. However, I can accept that his character would be more of a “straight man”-character in this story. Still, for this to actually work, the other characters should be much more over the top.

Also, it’s been more than 40 years since Alien and yet, it seems like we almost have fewer women working on board this spaceship. In a story which is supposed to be taking place in the future. The women we do see are all pretty damn cool (again, in classic sci-fi and horror style), but still.

Again, if this had been made into a running joke in the form of campy satire, then fine, but that’s really not the case.

Check out Breach now if you’re curious!

Directed by John Suits (Pandemic, 2016) and written by Edward Drake and Corey Lange, Breach should have had a lot going for it. Unfortunately, when there are so many characters (that hardly get introduced) and such a simple plot with no real surprises or any real edge, then you easily become indifferent as a viewer.

Sure, there is plenty of blood and many of the characters (that you never really get to know or care about) turn into zombie-like creatures. So? I can get that in a million other movies where I do actually get to know and care about the characters. Also, the few “twists” that do come along are extremely predictable.

If you want something with lots of blood and people turning into creatures, then you should definitely check out the new Netflix series Sweet Home instead.

You might like: Our season 1 review of Sweet Home out on Netflix now >

While I accept and respect that there is an audience for movies made in a retro style, I personally feel it misses the mark in that regard. I enjoy a retro style and any good kitsch vibe. However, having big names in what feels like a low-budget movie with a short film plot? Honestly, I just don’t get the point of Breach.

But hey, maybe this is exactly your jam, so do check it out if you think the trailer looks awesome.

Breach is out on VOD and in select theaters from December 18, 2020.

Details

Director: John Suits
Writers: Edward Drake, Corey Large
Stars: Cody Kearsley, Bruce Willis, Rachel Nichols, Thomas Jane, Kassandra Clementi, Johnny Messner, Callan Mulvey, Corey Large, Timothy V. Murphy, Johann Urb, Ralf Moeller, Angie Pack