RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Breach
Breach

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Breach (2007)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
74 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:43

Fresh:32

Rotten:11

Average Rating:6.8/10

Consensus: Powered by Chris Cooper's masterful performance, Breach is a tense and engaging portrayal of the FBI's infamous turncoat.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for violence, sexual content and language.

Runtime: 3 hrs 42 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Feb 16, 2007 Wide

Box Office: $32,958,840

Synopsis: Chris Cooper (ADAPTATION) gives a remarkable performance as complicated and bitter FBI agent Robert Hanssen in BREACH. Hanssen is a computer specialist who, after 25 years of service, is put under... Chris Cooper (ADAPTATION) gives a remarkable performance as complicated and bitter FBI agent Robert Hanssen in BREACH. Hanssen is a computer specialist who, after 25 years of service, is put under surveillance as a suspected sex offender. Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe, CRASH) is the ambitious young upstart they put on the job, assigning him to pose as Hanssen's new clerk in order to win his trust and keep an eye on his every move. Eric is dismayed to be put on such low-priority detail, accustomed as he is to investigating high-profile terrorism suspects. His reluctance is multiplied as he gets to know the subject of his inquiry; Hanssen is at first harsh towards his young secretary, but as he opens up, Eric gets to know and respect him as a family man of strong Catholic faith. Soon, however, Hanssen is infiltrating Eric's personal life and causing problems between him and his wife, Juliana (Caroline Dhavernas, HOLLYWOODLAND), and just when Eric is about to give up the case, he discovers that it is much bigger than he ever imagined. Eric finds himself in the middle of an investigation into the biggest security breach in U.S. history, forcing him to resort to dramatic and ingenious tactics in order to bring down the suspect. Director Billy Ray's first directorial effort was the dramatization of the Stephen Glass scandal at the D.C. magazine The New Republic in SHATTERED GLASS, and here he once again turns his eye--with great success--to a true story with a complex villain. Cooper's excellent characterization invites pity and horror in equal measure; his performance is well supported in this character-driven thriller by Laura Linney (KINSEY) as the hard-nosed agent leading the investigation, and Phillippe as the resourceful and introspective O'Neill. [More]

Starring: Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, Kathleen Quinlan, Laura Linney

Starring: Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe, Kathleen Quinlan, Laura Linney, Gary Cole, Dennis Haysbert, Caroline Dhavernas, Bruce Davison

Director: Billy Ray

Director: Billy Ray
Producer: Scott Kroopf
Composer: Mychael Danna
Studio: Universal Pictures

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Trailer
    >
    Leak Investigation
    >
    Eric O'Neill
    >
    Chris Cooper
    >
  • Ryan Phillippe
    >
    Billy Ray
    >
1 - 4 of 6

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Jun 1, 2008

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Breach

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Ultimately, the movie soars because of the inspired casting of Chris Cooper as Hanssen.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
03/21/07
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

(Chris Cooper)is the principal reason why this unspectacular, low-key study of the Hanssen national security fiasco is so effective.

Full Review Source: Film.com | comment Comment
02/23/07
Jonathan F. Richards
Jonathan F. Richards
Film.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Ray's careful emphasis on authenticity over thrills and psychology over action is impeded by this narrative's narrow window: there's so much we can't know about what Hanssen did and why.

Full Review Source: CNN.com | comment Comment
02/17/07
Tom Charity
Tom Charity
CNN.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Breach is competently made but, aside from Cooper's performance, there's nothing here worth getting excited about.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
02/17/07
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An uncompromising study in the gradual decay of a soul.

Full Review Source: Wall Street Journal | comment Comment
02/16/07
Joe Morgenstern
Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Though you know from the start just how it's going to end, Breach, based on the true story of a treasonous FBI operative, is an edge-of-the-seat thriller.

Full Review Source: USA Today | comment Comment
02/16/07
Claudia Puig
Claudia Puig
USA Today
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Breach is a movie tailor-made for the age of intelligence failure.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
02/16/07
Geoff Pevere
Geoff Pevere
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Subtle, complex, bleakly funny at times, but always utterly enveloping, one of the great studies in profoundly abnormal psychology.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
02/16/07
Richard Schickel
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Breach suffers from lavishing so much attention on a relatively minor figure.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
02/16/07
Ruthe Stein
Ruthe Stein
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Just when you're thinking every new American film belongs in the Bomb Squad, along comes Breach to win one for our side.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
02/16/07
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A riveting true-life thriller about the young FBI specialist who got the goods on the veteran agent selling secrets to Moscow.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
02/16/07
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Cooper's performance is fine. The script, however, is filled with dead-end tangents and unanswered questions.

Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | comment Comment
02/16/07
Lisa Rose
Lisa Rose
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Though it's being dumped in the wastelands in February, Breach is better than many of the pack of so-called prestige movies that were released at the end of last year.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
02/16/07
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A sharp cat-and-mouse game between Hanssen and Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe), the agent/trainee assigned to spy on him.

Full Review Source: New York Daily News | comment Comment
02/16/07
Jack Mathews
Jack Mathews
New York Daily News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Filled with tension, deception and bravura acting, Breach is a crackling tale of real-life espionage that doubles as a compelling psychological drama.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
02/16/07
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I can imagine no better man [than Chris Cooper] to play the enigma at the center of Breach.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
02/16/07
Amy Biancolli
Amy Biancolli
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A thriller with no thrills, a true story minus a single interesting truth, a real-life tale with all the fascination scraped off to leave only a residue of tedious facts.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
02/16/07
Rick Groen
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Breach is the sort of studiously serious, well-made, based-on-fact film that critics go crazy for and audiences find earnestly dull and eminently avoidable.

Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
02/16/07
Tom Long
Tom Long
Detroit News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Breach is a good cloak-and-dagger tale and telling this complex story through O'Neill proves a brilliant way to watch Hanssen's schemes unravel.

Full Review Source: Detroit Free Press | comment Comment
02/16/07
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

We know from the outset that Hanssen, brilliantly played by Chris Cooper, is guilty. What we don't know is how the FBI caught him, and that's what director Billy Ray's carefully detailed and absorbing movie tells us.

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment Comment
02/16/07
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for Breach

September 21, 2007: Ryan Phillippe, Eva Green, Sam Riley Join Franklyn
Ryan Phillippe, Eva Green, and Sam Riley are heading into the future. More...

July 21, 2007: trailer and preview Opens in new window
More...

April 26, 2007: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
More...

March 19, 2007: Box Office Guru Wrapup: "300" Reigns Again as Box Office King
Three new competitors were no match this weekend for the mighty action epic "300," which easily defended its box office crown to rule North American theaters for a... More...

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
77% 77% The Hangover
88% 88% Inglourious Basterds
66% 66% Public Enemies
24% 24% G-Force
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
82% 82% Paranormal Activity
57% 57% 9
44% 44% Jennifer's Body
58% 58% A Perfect Getaway

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Critics' Best & Worst

Critics' Best & Worst

RT's critic friends offer their choices

Total Recall

Total Recall

We list 10 New Year's Eve-themed films!

2010 Movie Preview

2010 Movie Preview

Find next year's top releases!

Shrek is Back!

Shrek is Back!

Celebrate Shrek's return with this trailer!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: Annual Ketchup Edition
32
  • Harold Ramis Discusses Filmography, Teases Ghostbusters 3 Source: Heeb Magazine
12
  • National Film Registry Adds 2009 Selections Source: Hollywood Reporter
9
  • New Moon Tops Moviefone's 2009 List Source: Hollywood Reporter
29
  • Star Trek Tops 2009's Most-Pirated Movies List Source: Hollywood Reporter
19
  • Weekly Ketchup: Peter Jackson's Secret Sci-Fi Project
111
  • New Toy Story 3 Clip, Photos Posted Source: Slashfilm
26
  • Danny Trejo Talks Machete, Possible Sequels Source: Collider.com
14
  • It's Official: Jackass 3-D Coming in 2010 Source: Collider.com
16
  • Bryan Singer Returning to X-Men for First Class Source: Superhero Hype
102
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Avatar, Sherlock, and Alvin Team Up To Break Records
375
  • Critics Choose Must-Sees and Worsts of 2009
235
  • RT Editors Choose Their Favorite Films of 2009!
139
  • RT's Ten Most Popular Movies of 2009
93
  • Total Recall: New Year's Eve Movies
42
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: 9 and Paranormal Activity
31
  • Critics Consensus: The White Ribbon Is Certified Fresh
23
  • Five Favorites of the Five Favorite Films of 2009
22
  • Friday Harvest: Eclipse, Robin Hood, and more!
17
  • Weekly Ketchup: Annual Ketchup Edition
16
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
74
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
22
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
24
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
16
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
24
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • Breach at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Breach at IGN
  • Breach at AskMen

Fresh Links

Featured
Best Nude Scenes of the Year
Best Nude Scenes of the Year External Link

Moviefone lists their top ten nude scenes from film in 2009.

Hollywood.com's Best of 2009
Hollywood.com's Best of 2009 External Link

Thomas Leupp offers us Hollywood.com's take on the best films of the year.

Best Dozen of the Decade
Best Dozen of the Decade External Link

Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!

Top 10 Movies of 2009
Top 10 Movies of 2009 External Link

TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

Top 20 of the Decade
Top 20 of the Decade External Link

Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo
About Us | Advertise | Contact Us | Press | Careers
IGN | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | Direct2Drive | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Game Sites | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GIGA.DE | What They Play | Battlefield Heroes
By continuing past this page, and by your continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2010, IGN Entertainment, Inc. | Support | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! RSS Feeds
IGN’s enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA.
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.