Overview
A gripping showdown unfolds as media and crime collide in a high-stakes standoff.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Brutal
- propulsive
- stylish
- tense
- action movie night
- hong kong cinema marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a stylish, inventive Hong Kong action thriller whose media satire and set pieces outweigh its relatively thin characterization.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Inspector Rebecca turns the police stakeout into a breaking news show to compete with media coverage and restore police credibility.
The opening televised defeat damages the police force's credibility, motivating Rebecca's media-driven response.
The plot centers on a ballistic showdown and a tactical confrontation inside a run-down building.
Police, robbers, hostages, and television crews converge in an urban building while events are shaped for broadcast.
Films like Breaking News, and why
infernal affairs
shared hong kong action filmmaking, police tactics, urban gunplay, and media-conscious spectacle
drug war
shared johnnie to crime-film sensibility, ensemble police action, and tense urban standoffs
exiled
shared stylized hong kong shootouts, criminal confrontations, and tightly choreographed action
mad city
shared media manipulation, hostage crisis tension, and the collision of public image with law enforcement
Movie Details
- Director
- Johnnie To
- Release Date
- 2004-06-10
- Runtime
- 90 min
- Rating
- 6.9 / 10 (180)
Cast
- Kelly Chen Hui-Lin
- Richie Jen
- Nick Cheung Ka-Fai
- Lam Suet
- Simon Yam
- You Yongzhi
- Benz Hui Siu-Hung
- Maggie Shiu Mei-Kei
- Cheung Siu-fai
- Ding Haifeng
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Hi-YAH Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, FlixFling
- Buy
- Amazon Video, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Breaking News about?
- A televised police humiliation becomes the trigger for a media-savvy counteroperation against bank robbers holed up in a derelict building.
- What is Breaking News like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Breaking News as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Breaking News violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Breaking News as brutal.
- What did critics think of Breaking News?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a stylish, inventive Hong Kong action thriller whose media satire and set pieces outweigh its relatively thin characterization.
- Which films are like Breaking News?
- Films with a similar feel include infernal affairs, drug war, exiled, and mad city.
- How long is Breaking News?
- Breaking News runs 90 minutes.
- Where can I watch Breaking News?
- In United States, Breaking News streams on Hi-YAH Amazon Channel.
