When I think over my favourite HBO series ever, there's plenty to pick from. The Sopranos, of course. Game of Thrones sits high, too. True Detective is undoubtedly up there also. More recently, The Last of Us has impressed too. But one that still lives with me is The Wire – a landmark show like little else since, full of drama and turmoil and memorable characters.
Of all those, it was Michael K Williams' depiction as Omar who was my favourite of the bunch. Sadly, the actor passed away in 2021 – but his spirit lives on it various movies, including the posthumously released Breaking, in 2022, which has just landed in the Netflix Top 10 chart. Once again, Williams is captivating, as you can see in the trailer below.
The movie is based on true events and is about a Veteran Marine, Brian Brown-Easley – played expertly by John Boyega – who lacks support and finances and takes matters into his own hands by taking a bank and many of its employees hostage. It builds and builds, with Williams' role as Eli Bernard, a hostage negotiator.
The cast in the movie is predominantly composed of celebrated black actors, with Boyega's performance as mesmerising as it is sad. Other notable talent from Nicole Beharie, as the bank manager, really stands out. No surprise it won the Sundance Film Festival's Special Jury Award (for Ensemble Cast) – the director, Abi Damaris Corbin, was also nominated for a Grand Jury Prize.
The stakes are clearly very high in Breaking. As it's rooted in true events, this is no throwaway action flick or heist movie. Critics have called it a modern-day Dog Day Afternoon, following in the footsteps of the 1975 classic American crime drama, starring Al Pacino, about a hostage bank robbery.
Breaking has performed well with critics and viewers alike, too, with the Rotten Tomatoes score topping out at a solid 84%, based on more than 250 verified ratings. I think that score would be higher if many hadn't criticised it for lack of action – as this is more about the broken system and where that can, regrettably, take people. Watch it now on Netflix, again proving why it's one of the best streaming services once more...
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