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It's not the most pleasant of trips that Alex (Louis Mandylor) is
undertaking today, as he's visiting his estranged son Vincent (Kristos
Andrews) in prison - and ultimately the visit ends with father and son
having yet another fall-out. And then, while Alex is on the restroom, the
prison is overtaken by its inmates, more precisely one Max Chandler (Brian
Krause), once a cop with the bomb squad who changed sides under illusions
of grandeur. But Chandler's not stupid, he has minutely planned the
takeover and his ultimate escape, down to taking hostages as mere pawns.
And this results in chief negotiator Coleman (Tom Sizemore in one of his
last roles) with little room to negotiate. But Coleman has one unexpected
ace up his sleeve, Alex, who's not just Vincent's father but also a former
Black Ops member trained in all sorts of (guerilla) combat. Thing is,
Chandler recruits soldiers for his "cause" among the inmates,
and in disillusioned Vincent he has found just the right vessel to plant
his insane ideas in ... Now I'd be lying to you if I said this
film wasn't at all reminiscent of Die Hard, premise-wise - but the
similarities don't go much deeper than that as what makes Breakout
so engaging (besides its well-executed action barrage that is) is the
rather unusual dynamics between its lead characters that not only give the
movie its fair share of twists and surprises but also provide its
underlying suspense throughout. And a slick direction equally at home in
tension and in action, and a strong cast really bring this film to life
quite beautifully, making it a very entertaining watch.
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