Breakthrough (2019)

“Now’s not a good time.” – Joyce Smith

“I know… that’s why I’m here.” – Pastor Jason Noble

Number of Times Seen – 1 (15 Jan 2020)

Brief Synopsis – Based on the true story of a boy who was declared clinically dead but miraculously woke up from a coma.

My Take on it – This is a film that I had never even heard of until the morning of the Oscar nominations earlier this month.

It was a surprise when it received a nomination for Best Song for the tune – I’m Standing with You by Diane Warren

Since I try to watch all films that receive Oscar nominations, I decided to give it a shot and see what this was all about.

Unfortunately, this movie comes across as being much too preachy and fails to deliver its message about hope and prayer in a better way.

None of the characters are developed well enough and that also hurts things because it makes it so much more difficult to care about them when they all seem like stereotypes or archetype the whole way through.

This film has a very talented cast that includes Topher Grace, Dennis Haysbert, Josh Lucas and Crissy Metz but they all feel wasted here in these roles.

None of them are able to make things more engaging or enjoyable to watch.

The story comes across as being very unbalanced and the first half is better than the latter half because of the way things are paced.

The second half moves at a very slow pace and comes across as being much too boring and slow while also feeling as if things are being dragged along too much which is a shame.

Unfortunately, the song is pretty much the only real reason to watch this film since it is able to give us the same message that the film fails to capture in a much more succinct and poignant way.

Check it out here:

Bottom Line – Interesting premise that fails to work because it all feels presented in too much of a preachy way. The characters aren’t developed well enough and they all pretty much seem like stereotypes and archetypes. The cast is quite talented, yet they are mostly wasted here and fail to help make this story more enjoyable or engaging to watch unfold. The film also feels very unbalanced since the first half is more compelling and the second half is deliberately slow and somewhat boring while also giving off the feel that it is being drawn out too much. The Oscar nominated song – I’m Standing with You is the best part of this film because it definitely captures the message that they are trying to give over here in a much more succinct and poignant way than they are able to do with the movie itself.

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The first 20th Century Fox film to be released after the Disney purchase. (From IMDB)

Rating – BAFTA Worthy (5/10)