My quick rating – 3.5/10. In the not-too-distant future, where the air supply is low, a mother and daughter must fend off two strangers seeking an oxygenated hideaway. Breathe sounds like it has a solid premise for a sci-fi thriller, right? Well…don’t hold your breath.
I’m always game for a new sci-fi flick, and the cast for Breathe definitely caught my attention. Unfortunately, that’s about where the positives end. Writer Doug Simon somehow managed to script an entire movie around an unbelievable setup. And director Stefon Bristol didn’t do much to patch the leaks. The result? A film that starts with plot holes large enough to vent the last remaining oxygen right out of the room.
The concept of Earth suddenly losing all breathable air could have been fascinating. But instead of building a grounded world (no pun intended), Bristol gives us a landscape that looks like a war zone hit by nuclear bombs rather than an atmospheric collapse. No trees or birds? Sure, I’ll buy that. But bridges crumbling and skyscrapers in ruins four years later? That is not climate collapse; that is someone playing Fallout with the scenery budget.
Inside their bunker, Jennifer Hudson and Quvenzhané Wallis do their best as the mother-daughter duo holding onto hope (and oxygen). Most of the movie takes place in this makeshift shelter, which features some very questionable “future tech.” It’s all blinking lights, random alarms, and gadgets that look like they were borrowed from a ’90s sci-fi channel special. The constant warning sirens are basically the soundtrack here, so if you enjoy anxiety-inducing beeping, you’re in luck.
Whenever someone ventures outside, we’re treated to some of the flattest post-apocalyptic scenery I’ve seen in years. The sets look more like a high school drama club’s stage production of The Last of Us. Which is baffling, considering the cast list suggests there was a budget. When I saw Milla Jovovich pop up, I realized where the money probably went, because it sure didn’t go into world-building.
To be fair, the actors give it their all. Hudson, Wallis, and Jovovich do their best to elevate the material, but even solid performances can’t save a film this devoid of logic or tension. By the time the “twist” ending rolls around (and no, I won’t spoil it), I was more oxygen-deprived from sighing than they were from the atmosphere.
Overall, Breathe is a forgettable post-apocalyptic misfire — a movie that promises a tense survival story but delivers a limp, airless experience instead. The cast breathes life into an otherwise suffocating script, but even they can’t save it from collapsing under its own weight.
