Plot Summary
Currently streaming on Netflix is Breaking and Re-Entering, a Taiwanese heist thriller with a twist.
The movie tells the story of a group of thieves who steal money from a bank, only to discover they have been double-crossed by the person who hired them to steal the cash.
Consequently, the gang decide to do something they have never done before – return the money to the bank they stole it from.
Do they succeed? We reveal all in our Ending Explained article for Breaking and Re-Entering.
Who double-crosses the team?
The team is made up of four people.
Chang is the leader. Uncle Bin is the group’s master of disguise. Wen-Hao is skilled at combat. And Kao is a computer hacker who sometimes aids the team remotely.
At the beginning of the movie, we see the group at work as they steal money from Wanxi Bank. Little do they know that they have been cheated by the bank owner, Chen Hai-jui, who hired them to steal the money so he could claim it all for himself.
Not only that but Chen’s plan involves a scapegoat, Shu-wen, the bank’s junior manager who he sets up to take the fall for the missing money by wire-transferring her the same amount of money that has been taken.
Shu-wen just so happens to be Chang’s former girlfriend who he separated from several years previously.
When Chang realizes what Chen has done, he decides to return the money and save his ex from Chen’s men who have been ordered to kill her while leaving behind her phone, which contains evidence of her recently increased bank account.
Why did Chang leave Shu-wen?
Midway through the movie, Shu-wen asks Chang why he left her without saying goodbye. It turns out that he was arrested following a bank heist. When he dropped a toy that Shu-wen had given him, he stopped to pick it up. This act led to his arrest as it enabled the police to catch up with him.
When Shu-wen asks if they have a chance of being together, he says “no,” as he thinks she will drag him down.
Fortunately for Shu-wen, their relationship isn’t over. When they have a deep conversation about the past, it’s revealed that Chang still has the toy, indicating that he still loves her.
What happens at the bank?
Chang’s first plan to return the money to the bank doesn’t go to plan, partly because Chen’s men, led by Mr Hu, get in his team’s way during the heist.
Following their escape, Uncle Bin meets with Kao and Wen-Hao and suggests they turn their back on Chang and split the money they stole three ways. He suggests this because he thinks Chang is too besotted with Shu-wen to care for the team.
Kao and Wen-Hao dismiss Uncle Bin’s suggestion and make him see sense.
Later, another plan is put in motion to return the money. Chang and his team (which now includes Shu-wen) enter the bank with toy guns and take everybody hostage.
The hostages are placed in a room with a bomb that will be set off if anybody crosses a motion sensor. The bomb is a fake but Chang hopes it will be convincing enough to deter anybody from trying to escape.
Uncle Bin guards the hostages while the others exact their plan. Chang and Shu-wen head to the bank vault while Kao and Wen-Hao remain upstairs.
During the heist, Wen-Hao visits Chen’s office to discuss a “deal” they made. We’re led to believe that Wen-Hao is double-crossing Chang and helping Chen, but this later turns out not to be the case.
Outside, the police arrive, so Chang sends Kao out with a hostage to distract them.
Back in the bank, Chen, who has been alerted to Chang’s presence at the vault by Wen-Hao, goes down to confront him along with his gang of thugs. Moments later, Wen-Hao also turns up and carries on with the pretence that he is now on Chen’s side.
When explaining why he has switched sides, Wen-Hao claims it’s because he is jealous of Shu-wen and that he’s upset Chang didn’t notice the feelings he had for him.
Wen-Hao doesn’t really love Chang (at least, not in that way) but his speech is part of the plan to distract Chen’s men from their mission. While the goons ponder over Wen-Hao’s profession of love, they are caught off-guard. This gives Chang an opening to tackle them, along with Wen-Hao who takes them down almost single-handedly.
Does Chang return the money?
At the end of the fight, Shu-wen tries to make Chen realize the errors of his ways. The speech she gives isn’t sincere though as she is just biding time until Kao and Uncle Bin arrive with a pancake bomb.
When the bomb goes off, the corridor is filled with smoke and Chen is knocked out. When he comes to, he discovers Chang and his team have gone.
He’s not alone though, as the police have now entered the bank. When they take him to his office, they discover the stolen money is hidden in his private vault. This money was placed in the vault by Wen-Hao who took the opportunity to return the cash when Chen and his men went down the stairs to confront Chang.
How does the movie end?
At the end of the movie, Chen is arrested. Not only do the police charge him with embezzling the bank of money (and using it to buy expensive watches), but they also charge him with crypto fraud due to his dodgy side-business in virtual currency.
As for Chang and his team, well, it’s a happy ending. They have successfully returned the cash, saved Shu-wen from Chen’s evil scheme, and escaped the bank without being seen by the police.
Presumably, Chang and Shu-wen continued their relationship after the reverse heist, but this isn’t something we are explicitly told. It’s not hard to imagine that they do though!
Read More: Breaking and Re-Entering Movie Review