Breakdown (I) (2016) User Reviews

Not the vehicle type........

[FlashCallahan · 6/10 · 5 February 2016]

Haunted by horrific visions of the men he has killed, Alfie edges toward madness as his past catches up with him.

Alfie's panic attacks now compromise this once elite soldier and contract killer, and after having a panic attack during a torture in front of his employers and client, bringing Alfie's sanity and professionalism into question, this forces the head of Homefront, to threaten Alfie and his family.........

If you were to pass this in a supermarket/store, you'd be forgiven that this would involve big explosions, helicopters, SWAT type commandos, and Tammer Hassan, in the heart of London.

Now the film does feature Tammer Hassan, and he's really good in this, but the fact that he's in it for about five minutes and sits down the whole time doesn't really say much about him being really good. I'm sitting down right now, and this review will take me around ten minutes. Does that mean I'm really good?

So we have Fairbrass having these visions every now and again, and he starts to go blank, then shake, and then act a little strange for about two minutes, and this causes the leader of his outfit to threaten the lives of him, his wife, and daughter............has he never heard of worked base counselling.

So Alfie wants out, gets sent out on almost impossible contracts, and in the most predictable trope these movies have to offer, it's a case of, once your in, you can never get out, and that includes your family.

It's not a bad film, he has to contend with his daughter coming of age, and his best mate trying it on with his wife, which would only exacerbate his symptoms, but it's just that the antagonists in this, just feel more like end of level bad guys, rather than fleshed out characters.

The third act goes all bizarre though for some reason. Bruce Payne (the bad guy from Passenger 57) pops up for about ten minutes, giving Alfie an epiphany (and a nice cup of tea with two sugars), and then his wife and child reveal themselves to be cold blooded killers, which just shows that the writers had run out of ideas before the deadline.

But it's good fun, like a hybrid of last years Spandau double whammy Age Of Kill, and the poor excuse of a film Assassin.

If you like your meat and potatoes straight to DVD action movies, this isn't a bad choice.

Not to be confused with a Kurt Russell film though.....

Another British film showcasing brutal, gratuitous violence

[wellthatswhatithinkanyway · 4/10 · 21 April 2016]

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Alfie Jennings (Craig Fairbrass) is a cold, ruthless contract killer, who has suddenly developed a crisis with his conscience, haunted by nightmarish visions of those he has killed over the years. It all comes to a head one night when he is unable to a finish a job, and embarrasses headman Chapman (James Cosmo), his employer and family friend. With his fifteen year old daughter to look after, and loving wife in tow, Alfie realises it's time to quit the life...but Chapman has other ideas.

Breakdown enjoyed the most limited of cinema releases, before rapidly arriving on DVD. If this kind of British film were in the mainstream, it would paint a very grim picture of the current state of our green and pleasant land. While many may think it has a point, the brutal, unflinching violence and cold, dispassionate onslaughts this film delivers at times, really make your skin crawl and test your endurance limit, making you question when as a decent person you should turn away.

This is fairly standard looking in presentation, and appears to want to burst right out of it's direct to DVD confines, offering that little bit more meat on the bones than the usual such film, cramming in subplots involving family dramas and soforth, and even an element of horror at the beginning that might have stretched the budget a bit. Fairbrass has an undeniably hard, no nonsense presence and delivery, and is very effective in the lead role, whilst Cosmo, by turns, is a quietly understated and menacing villain.

Ultimately, though, it isn't pieced together well enough to work as a whole, and the sheer gratuity and nastiness of it really weighs it down. **

Better than his usual films

[marks700 · 6/10 · 28 October 2021]

You know what you're gonna get with Fairbrass. You're not gonna get Oscar performances but compared to some of his films, this was better.

I enjoyed it, although I could see where it was heading.

Overall, one of his better films.

What's It All About, Alfie?

[lavatch · 2/10 · 1 February 2017]

In the story of "Breakdown," there is a fascinating premise about a career criminal killer with a conscience. The protagonist named Alfie (Craig Fairbrass) belongs to crime syndicate specializing in sadistic killings. But Alfie's breakdown occurs when he starts to have visions of the past atrocities for which he was responsible. The drama that unfolds is how Alfie must find a way to get out of the business of killing.

Sadly, the good potential of the film as a character study is overshadowed by the excessive violence. Not only were the gruesome scenes prolonged beyond the pale, but they were often not very believable. This was especially true when Alfie enlists his wife and teenage daughter into the never-ending string of killings.

There was a good cast led ably by Fairbrass as Alfie. But the filmmakers' focus on the screen violence made the film virtually unwatchable in places.

Horrible show

[goodmeat-66438 · 2/10 · 14 December 2017]

Very intense nonsense drama. Very bad man won't let his best hitman retire. Apparently doesn't understand that a guy who kills people for a living can just as easily kill Very Bad Man. Gratuitous segue with daughter being given roofies. Wife inexplicably able to save Best Hitman when he is on a job at a location he told no one about. She's still wearing her Sunday go to Meeting clothes, and leaves daughter "out in the car" while she runs into the trailer to shoot old friend in the back just-in-time. Then BestHitman takes them home, VBM sends goons, although one dies somehow somewhere en route. Then the goons decide to go slow instead of just finish the dang job, so the BestHitman, his wife in church clothes, and strong-daughter-hiding-under-pillows pull it out. You've wasted as much time as you need to just reading this review.

God help us

[mahonyjohn-02199 · 1/10 · 4 July 2017]

I watch the new British films emerging from a generation of filmmakers trained in the language of Hollywood realism and soaps and TV detectives/villains and wonder if anyone who gets involves in making cinema like this realises what a waste it all is..same terrible copies of every other kind of cliché/stereotype/scene structure/shot style/music soundtrack that has been a massive bore time and again. Dreadful script, appalling characterisation,violence,lots of blood,gore,and for what ? For no one to see it in a cinema,or anywhere else with luck, all for the sake of making "a film".Those who made this should be ashamed .....when there are so many ordinary people's lives in Britain totally ignored by mainstream media, hidden behind crap like this so called film.

Pulls off a good effort in a swamped genre.

[sdt-77844 · 7/10 · 19 January 2016]

I was not expecting much from this as it came out of the blue but was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. All the actors were more than accomplished in there roles, especially the female leads. Mr Fairbrass does his usual impression of 'wasp chewing bulldog' but also managed to at least attempt some tenderness. Some nice turns and a twist keeps the pace up without relying too much on ultra violence, of which there is plenty.

The only infuriating let-down was the damn sound balance. Whisper quiet dialogue (especially Connor) that ramps to 200db at the flick of a switch. Sitting with hand poised over volume control for the whole film got tedious!

Apart from that, good work.

Slow and very boring

[stephenbishop-22925 · 3/10 · 12 January 2019]

It takes a long time to go where it wants to go. Craig Fairbrass plays his normal characterisation, normal dialogue 'Hardman'. The only thing that saves this is the presence of James Cosmo. Apart from that, it is a violent over timed movie that could be cut down by at least 30 minutes just by speeding it up and making it a little more exciting.

Not bad, (unbelievable ending (not in a good way)

[roryw-1 · 6/10 · 27 January 2016]

First off the poster is completely misleading. There is no London Skyline, helicopters, swat teams, actually no police at all for a change in this genre. Furthermore, Tamser Hassan only has a brief cameo where he does not carry a gun. Overall a good effort with a number of good performances, Emmett Scanlon stands out. After a believable and sometimes gripping first 2 acts it is let down with a clichéd final act. particularly the main character using his family in a fight against trained assassins,totally absurd. For the best assassin in the business he and family get away with what only can be described with as sheer luck in the end.

Not very good

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 13 September 2019]

BREAKDOWN appears to be rather liked on this website but I'm afraid I have to go against the grain. I found it a slog to sit through, an overlong reheating of gangster elements that substitutes depth for sheer viciousness and goes way over the top in a torture scene. Craig Fairbrass gets a chance to act with a bit more depth than usual in his hardman role, but he's not particularly likeable in the part and the endless family material really drags the pacing down. There are some good elements here, such as James Cosmo's powerful old-timer, but overall it's simply not very good.

Good

[iainsmith-18061 · 8/10 · 16 September 2021]

One of Craig's better movies & has such screen presence. Brilliant actor and love him in portraying gangster sort of character's.

An absolute awesome British thriller!

[Jailou · 10/10 · 27 January 2016]

Just when you think they don't make any good indie British films anymore, unless its gangster Essex boys, football thugs and drugs, along comes something right out of left field that literally stopped me in my tracks, I actually paused the film and SCREAMED!! You have to COME watch this, it's really good! and we did.

BREAKDOWN is not the norm by any stretch, OK its low budget, but there is something extremely engaging about it, its cinematic, gripping, beautifully acted in my view and totally convincing..I did look away a few times though especially in the torture scene but on the whole a seriously good film, riveting storyline, believable characters and the taxidermist twist I just loved. You just have to keep the faith and keep watching British films because every now and then something rather special comes along and BREAKDOWN is just that.

Completed to write this! Peace and Love.

Worth watching , better than expected.

[a-29488 · 8/10 · 26 July 2022]

This film was better than I thought it was going to be it had a gripping stoeyline,different to what you normally see in these films ,Craig Fairbras played the role well as a man with a past catching up with him.

Nice to see some of the familier faces from these gangster films again.