Brake is very similar to "Buried" (which I also loved). It follows the story of a CIA agent who finds himself trapped in the trunk of a car by terrorists and interrogated in order for him to give away the location of a secret bunker where the president hides during a crisis. As the entire US crumbles around him, he does everything he can to save himself, his family, and his country, all within the confines of a glass box, literally. This movie was suspenseful, tense, and very visceral. The psychological tension raised to an insane degree, and the whole movie feels like one giant "Saw" trap, but instead of just being mindless gore and torture, there is actually a strong story and solid pacing. While the main character in Brake may not be as like-able or relatable as Paul Conroy in "Buried", the twists and turns make the story much more engaging. "Buried" felt as if the whole movie was one big scene, while Brake is more broken up into segments. I cannot rave enough about the pacing, each scene is either interesting and suspenseful or tense and psychologically challenging. Never once was I bored or simply waiting for the next scene, I was constantly kept in the moment as if I, myself, were in the same situation the character was in. The only negative factor that compromises the quality of the film was the ending. Without spoiling anything, the ending was stupid and made no sense. Some could argue it was clever and "original", but I found it pretentious and completely ludicrous. So much so that if I were ever to watch the film again, I would probably pause it about five minutes before the credits roll to spare myself the disappointing flaw in an otherwise great suspense/thriller. However, aside from the awful ending, Brake is still a very good film and definitely worth watching.

That's it, he's in the trunk 99% of the movie. Reminded us of the Josh Duhamel movie "Scenic Route", where 99 1/2% of the movie was on a deserted road of the desert. 2 actors one truck, two drivers passing by. That was it. Get the picture? I wish I had that hour back, that's for sure. If you think you know the ending trust me you don't. The ending is truly the worst ending I have ever seen in a movie. Save except the Scenic Route movie. You have to be a really good actor to carry off this role, and that is the only good thing I can say about the movie. The one and only main actor until the 2 minute ending, was a great actor.

Make no mistake about it, Stephen Dorff owns this film. He did such an excellent job. Since he plays the only visible character for about 93% of the film, I can confidently say it's worth a watch despite the glaring flaws of the film. He's just that entertaining here.First off, I've never seen Buried, so my review will be unbiased in regards to that film - just keep that in mind. Overall, I thought the concept of Brake was pretty clever: Secret Service agent gets kidnapped; locked in the trunk of a constantly moving automobile by a group of mysterious terrorists; physically and mentally tortured by unconventional methods in order for them to get what they want. (As if any method of torture is conventional.) Will his character break (not BRAKE)? What exactly do the terrorists want and who are they? Will everything go according to plan along the way? You'll have to watch to find out. A lot of people have complained about the ending (or multiple endings) and the ability to predict some of the plot twists, like, before the prologue. (No, just kidding.) Seriously, it was way too easy figuring this movie out. That said, I still enjoyed it. Listen, with a plot of this nature there are only a few ways this could have ended - either the terrorist will get what they want out of agent Jeremy Reines (Dorff) or they won't. Everything in between is just a waiting game of HOW they intend to get it out of him, WHAT it is they want, and IF Dorff's character will make it out alive or not. When it comes down to it, the ending (or multiple endings) does provide you with the answers. What more do you want people?!Indeed, the plot is more than a bit far-fetched and I couldn't help but wonder why in the heck would anyone go through this much trouble to get something when there certainly were simpler (and probably more effective) methods to get the job done. I don't know, maybe they could have injected him with a truth serum or something. But then if that happened this wouldn't be called Brake; it'd be an entirely different movie. There are some other issues. There were a few revelations that the writer, Timothy Mannion, intended to be relevant towards the climax of the film but he came up short big time. They made no sense in context to what had happened earlier in the film and added no value to the outcome of the film. Also, for Reines to be such a highly trained and alert Secret Service agent, he was often too naive in certain circumstances when even Stevie Wonder would have seen the writing on the wall. No fault of Dorff's though, as once again, this is more a reflection of poor writing than anything else.Dorff was brilliant! That's why despite a cop out ending, sloppy writing, and plot elements so implausible that even M. Night Shyamalan would shake his head in shame, I still can't give it less than 7 stars. And that says a lot about Stephen's performance.

I really enjoyed this movie, it was at times intense, gripping and somewhat smart... until the end scene played out and that absolutely killed it for me. **- No Spoilers Here -** but, it really made me think what great potential this movie had and what everyone involved in the decision making was smoking when they chose to end the movie this way. So horrible in fact that I was mortified I had been violated in some way - I will not be seeking out this director (Gabe Torres)any time soon and may even make an effort to avoid him in the future. I will add this... the acting was fine. Would I recommend watching this movie ??? Sure... IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO - WHY NOT. Just keep an eye on your watch and turn it off 5 minutes before the movie is due to end.