Gabrielle Union ain’t no spring chicken. At 45-years old she is a decade past the age when Hollywood sidelines its stunning actresses. And that’s why her new film, Breaking In, is a special feat. 65-year old Liam Neeson spent the last decade neck chopping kidnappers, terrorists, and New York thugs. But these gritty physical roles don’t exist for ageing actresses – unless they’re named Charlize. In Breaking In, Union plays a mother desperate to rescue her children from a gang of thieves. The role requires a performance with the intensity, charisma, and physical presence of old-man action movie veterans like Denzel Washington, Liam Neeson, and Bruce Willis. Which begs one question: Does Union rise to the challenge?

When we meet Shaun (Gabrielle Union), she’s driving to her father’s mansion. Shaun’s father just died, and she’s taking her kids, Jasmine (Ajiona Alexus) and Glover (Seth Carr), to his estate so they can prepare it to go on the market. Shaun’s rich dad built his fancy home is in the middle of nowhere and he tricked it out with a state of the art security system. At the press of a button, the giant home goes into lockdown mode; blast shields drop down over windows and all the doors bolt shut. But…keeping people out won’t be Shaun’s problem.

By the time Shaun arrives, four thieves – lead by Eddie (Billy Burke) – have already broken in. Assuming the place was empty, they showed up looking for a secret safe filled with cash. When Shaun realizes what’s happening it’s already too late. Her kids are trapped inside the house with the crooks while she is stuck outside. Now, Shaun and Eddie engage in a game of wits to see who leaves with what they value most.

Director James McTeigue delivers high impact violence that gets under your skin and lingers. McTeigue spent a large portion of his career as second unit director/assistant director with the Wachowskis and it’s a shame their dynamic visual style didn’t bleed into this film. The fight choreography is unremarkable but the violence hits hard and has a visceral impact thanks to some impressive sound design. Every twisted wrist and knee to the gut rattles your eardrums. The violent encounters throughout the film are vicious; it’s a conflict between two sides whose backs are against the wall. The combat isn’t graceful or fun to watch as people gouge eyes, smack heads on concrete, and pull hair. And the longer Shaun and the thieves go at it, there’s a palpable sense of desperation.

Screenwriter Ryan Engle does his best to win us over early on as Shaun and the kids drive to her dad’s estate. Engles unveils the characters personalities and their family dynamics in a few quick minutes. The characters and the dialogue are so by the numbers it could have been ripped from 100 other movies. The teenage daughter is into boys and is addicted to her phone while the younger brother is a pest. If you went to a dinner party with these folks you would be guzzling wine to drown your boredom. They’re unremarkable but serviceable. The real problem is the villains.

A great hero needs a great villain. It’s the philosophy that makes Batman movies great. Breaking In’s four thieves are all over the place on the villainy spectrum. On the one hand, there’s Duncan (Richard Cabral). He’s the sort of raging Latino caricature that shows up on posters at Trump rallies. A blood-thirsty psychopath that will do anything for some easy money. On the other hand, there’s the ringleader, Eddie. Eddie has the look and demeanour of a guy who models dad-jeans in Old Navy ads. Duncan is cartoonishly evil and Eddie lacks menace. Through in some cornball dialogue and terrible line delivers and I walked out of the theatre unable to recall any character’s name.

Even the film’s lead, Shaun, isn’t an interesting character. But this is where star power creeps into the heroine equation. It’s a blast watching Union inhabit the role and do her thing. Some people have that “It factor,” and you would enjoy watching them shill marmalade on the Home Shopping Network. In this role, Union is a raging fire of “It Factor.”

Shaun kicks all the ass and it’s fun to cheer along as she does it. We don’t know why she’s so competent – the movie never tells us if she’s a former soldier or just cashed in a Groupon for CrossFit. She find’s ways to get shit done and that’s all we need to know. Once the villains cross her she goes from scared soccer mom to terrorizing the mansion like the goddamned Babadook.

Breaking In is a bumpy ride that finds its groove in the last 20-minutes. That’s a huge problem for an 88-minute movie. For the stretch run, McTeigue turns the intensity dial up to ten and then snaps it off. And the thrills start whipping at you like cars racing down the freeway. Despite not enjoying most of the film, the endgame had me perk up and slide to the edge of my seat. Had the entire film been so engaging, Breaking In would be a lot of fun. Instead, we have Gabrielle Union, using every ounce of star power to keep this shaky film from going off the rails.

While I didn’t enjoy Breaking In, I hope the film opens doors for women who dare to keep their careers going as they pass age 35. Maybe, 10-years down the road, Hollywood will deliver a Taken reboot starring 55-year-old Union. Let’s all dare to dream.