Does anyone else feel like we’re taking a trip back to the 80s and 90s with the help of today’s technology? That’s kind of the feeling with Breach since the whole ‘stuck on a spaceship with a rampaging alien’ kind of routine has been done, even if there are always different ways to do it. When a ship carrying what remains of humanity, meaning those that haven’t been wiped out by a plague, is infiltrated by a shape-shifting alien that kind of brings to mind the black oil of the X-Files, Resident Evil, The Thing, and Alien all rolled into one to see what kind of mashed-up creature would come out, that’s when the fun begins. Bruce Willis is no stranger to action and adventure and even outer space, but as time has passed its kind of obvious his approach to it has changed just a bit. This isn’t Corbin Dallas trying to save the world, after all, it’s a new guy trying to help save humanity and falling back into a type of John McClane role since you can clearly hear him say that he’s going to improvise. That sounds like the best idea when it comes to dealing with an alien that can infect anyone and use their form to wreak more havoc. From an action and sci-fi standpoint, this movie already looks like it would be enjoyable if one just sat to enjoy what it is and the kind of entertainment it will bring. But it does sound wise to not try to take anything else away from it.
That’s not to say that it’s a brainless action movie, but it doesn’t exactly look like something that will require a whole lot of thought other than to try and deduce just how the crew will handle the alien threat and who will be left standing at the end. Those darn aliens that are bent on subjugating or destroying the human race for reasons known only to them are often kind of a headache to deal with. One way to take care of them as it’s been found is through naked aggression, which usually involves a high content of gunfire and in this case even a cookout or two with the flamethrower since some aliens are just stubborn and stick around even when it’s clear they’re not wanted. But it’s action, action, and more action after a period of storytelling that will no doubt introduce the main players and give people some sense of why the earth is being abandoned and maybe even why the alien is on the ship in the first place. We’ll have to wait and see for that part.
But the cast is already looking like it will be manageable if not as impressive as one might want to think since there are a few faces that people will no doubt recognize and appreciate since the cast is made up of solid and skilled actors and being led by Bruce Willis is hardly ever a negative since he’s slogged his way through bad movies and stood at the head of decent to great movies more than once and it’s evident that he’ll be in good form this time around. To be certain this might be even better than The Fifth Element (I know, cover your eyes if that shocks you) simply because it has more of a serious lean to it and there’s not an explosion of color and strange but attractive fashion in every other scene. It’s also because instead of a hilarious, screeching Chris Tucker he’ll have the fun if somewhat underrated Thomas Jane with him this time around, and it’s kind of obvious that Jane won’t be at his hip trying to get a reaction out of him. No offense to The Fifth Element, but this movie definitely looks like something that will be enjoyable simply because it’s not so colorful and will be a lot darker in nature. It’s obviously going to allow Willis to entertain a couple of one-liners, and it probably won’t be up for a lot of awards when the time comes, but it does look like a return to the action movies that a lot of people might want to see and something that will incorporate the elements it’s using in an interesting way.
An alien threat that seeks to stamp out humanity or subjugate or assimilate it usually ends up being a decent premise if the story is given the kind of attention and detail that people want to see but also isn’t made to stretch in directions that go against the grain so to speak. From the trailer, this looks like something that people might enjoy since the story doesn’t have a lot of open space to get lost in since the players are aboard a ship and can only go so far. That kind of raises the desperation level and therefore the need to keep it tight and to the point. And that’s why it could be something worth watching.
