Film Review: RULE BREAKERS (2025): A Familiar but Touching Look at the Challenges of a Robotics Team from Afghanistan
Rule Breakers Review
Rule Breakers (2025) Film Review, a movie directed by Bill Guttentag, written by Jason Brown, Elaha Mahboob and Bill Guttentag and starring Nikohl Boosheri, Amber Afzali, Nina Hosseinadeh, Sara Malal Rowe, Mariam Saraj, Waj Ali, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Tatsu Carvalho, Christian Contreras, Faical Elkihel, Ali Fazal, Fahim Fazli, Sami Fekkak and Christopher Goh.
Angel Studios brings the tale of a female robotics team from Afghanistan to the screen in an inspirational film called Rule Breakers. This film has a lot of heart and earnest acting by its principal stars even if some of the movie’s plot plays out rather predictably. This picture opens with the introduction of computers back in the late 1990’s and women are forbidden to learn them. After bouncing between a few recent time periods, the picture settles down into its heartwarming story of overcoming the odds even in the most overwhelming of circumstances.
Directed by Bill Guttentag, the young girls who make up the robotics team are expertly played by actresses Amber Afzali, Nina Hosseinzadeh, Sara Malal Rowe and Mariam Saraj. They are led by the central female character of the picture, Roya Mahboob, who is played with a lot of determination by Nikohl Boosheri.
There are realistic competition sequences where the young ladies try to get their work seen in order to make a compelling difference in the word. At first, the girls struggle with the basics of being able to confidently stand behind their ideas but by the film’s end, the characters will learn to be strong and triumph over the competition.
There are of course the mandatory scenes of the girls looking to have fun and they go to a dance club in one sequence with their head scarves on which gives them away to the bouncer when someone comes looking for them to try to prevent them from getting into any trouble. The soundtrack is peppered with energetic music with the loud lyrics, “Tonight’s going to be a good night” in the background. It’s all in fun, though.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge turns up as a professor who moderates the big competition towards the film’s conclusion which comes after heavy scenes regarding the results of a mosque bombing that greatly affects the young ladies. Some of the scenes in Rule Breakers are heavier than others but, as a whole, the film is very inspirational. Character development is very strong in this picture with all of the girls being revealed as multi-faceted people with emotions that ring true.
One minor problem with the film is that the movie doesn’t delve deep into the scientific aspects of the robotics until later in the picture. Still, the film does ultimately deliver on its promise to present the viewer with a compelling invention at the end that the girls put together for the big competition. However, one of the girls must get to a car shop in order to fix one of the parts of the invention which, unfortunately, gets damaged in delivery to the competition. There are plenty of dramatic moments in Rule Breakers and they are all handled well by the performers and the direction is on-point almost all of the time.
If one central performance stands out, it is the central one by Boosheri as Roya who must help the girls get the resources that they need to have a chance at winning in the competitions they engage in. Boosheri is fierce and determined in her role and delivers a solid turn. Afzali and Saraj are the most natural feeling of the young actresses, yet all four of the young stars carry themselves with dignity and pride which enhances their work all the more. It’s a fine ensemble that will make similar young people feel the desire to overcome the unfair circumstances they may have been born into.
Rule Breakers is quite emotional in some of its plot developments, but, luckily, it’s not particularly overdone. Waller-Bridge is also a welcome addition to the cast even if her role could have been a bit more significant in the grand scheme of things. In addition, the inclusion of two kindly men from the mechanic shop who help the girls out and show up at their competition works well for the picture and shows how all type of people can get along regardless of their differences. This film teaches us that we are more the same than we are different despite difficult political rules which can sometimes dampen our personal ambitions for the worse.
In the end, Rule Breakers is just the type of stand up and cheer movie that one may expect it to be because it makes the case that when people embrace their unique talents, they can overcome just about anything. At least for two hours, anyway.
Rating: 7/10
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