A mother fights home invaders to save her family in 'Breaking In'

“Breaking In” — ★ ★

There is one perfect moment in “Breaking In.” and it comes relatively. early on.

Gabrielle Union's character, Shaun, has found herself under attack in the driveway where she'd been attempting to order pizza for her two kids. She's unaware that her son and daughter have already been grabbed by the home invaders. She's shoeless and on hold with the pizza place when the attack happens. But, she also has just broken her wineglass and, so, as resourceful ladies are wont to do, she stabs the guy in the chest with the stem.

Thankfully she'd had the chance to gulp down the contents first considering what comes next, which, might actually not be a bad idea for the audience either. Happy Mother's Day, folks, your house is under attack and your kids are being held hostage. Are your “mama bear” instincts up to the task?

It's not a bad idea and Union proves more than capable of nailing her Liam Neeson/Bruce Willis moment of save-your-family action stardom, but the movie has trouble sustaining interest even over its brisk 88 minutes.

Shaun and her son Glover (Seth Carr) and daughter Jasmine (Ajiona Alexus) are on a weekend trip to her late father's Wisconsin mansion to collect some belongings and meet the real estate agent. “This place is a fortress,” someone says as they explore the intense security system.

Shaun's father dies in the opening scene in an intentional hit-and-run, amid a barely explained DA investigation. But no one seems to care, plus Shaun's been estranged from her father for years.

It's why the four burglars assumed that there won't be anyone in the house when they pick this night to find a safe that they've been told contains $4 million in cash. Why they couldn't just come back another night instead of getting themselves involved in a hostage crisis isn't something the movie is interested in exploring, either. So the leader, Eddie (Billy Burke), the morally conflicted Sam (Levi Meaden), the psychotic Duncan (Richard Cabral) and the ex-military Peter (Mark Furze) decide to kidnap the kids, hunt down the mom and play it by ear as to whether to kill them.

Shaun is put through the wringer as she attempts to break back into the house. Burke seems unwilling to go full campy villain, instead playing it straight even though every other line of dialogue is him psychoanalyzing Shaun's mom drive. He also often goes back to the refrain that he's pretty impressed with her determination and how he “knows” that everyone underestimates her. I suppose it's the sort of line that women are supposed to relate to in general, but you start to realize that you know nothing about Shaun. Do people underestimate her? Did he?

It's telling about the level of thought put into this story and script, but, again, “Breaking In” is not necessarily even trying to live up those standards, and despite all odds and everything going on around her, Union sells it.

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Starring: Gabrielle Union, Billy Burke, Ajiona Alexus, Sean Carr

Directed by: James McTeigue

Other: A Universal Pictures film. Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual situations and language. 88 minutes