Movie Review: "Takers"

Seen on: August 10, 2010

The players: Director: John Luessenhop, Writers: John Luessenhop, Peter Allen, Cast: Idris Elba, Chris Brown, T.I., Paul Walker, Hayden Christensen, Matt Dillon

Facts of interest: None.

The plot: A gang of bank robbers try to pull of a major heist. Meanwhile, two cops try to track them down and arrest them for good.

Our thoughts: It sure took a while for John Luessenhop’s “Takers” to find its way to theaters, but now it’s finally here and that means it’s time to decide whether the wait was actually worth it. Let me put it this way: even though “Takers” is by no means a memorable movie experience, it boasts a cool visual style and enough fast-paced action to keep cinemagoers entertained for an hour and a half.

The story is that of a group of old-school bank robbers who like to hit their targets hard and come up with these massive plans to get their hands on the cash. This time they’re going after an armored truck carrying tons of moola, and while the gang figures out how pull off this seemingly impossible heist, two eager detectives are hunting for clues that could help them catch the criminals for good.

That’s pretty much all you need to know about “Takers,” because that’s exactly what keeps the plot moving at a rather attractive pace. The film is also filled with backstories and small intrigues surrounding some of the main characters, but those efforts continually fail because of the script’s undeniable implausibility. No seriously, “Takers” truly is an overly ridiculous and utterly unrealistic film.

That said, the action satisfies most of the time, primarily because Luessenhop has an eye for intriguing chases and some solid gun battles. Visually, “Takers” is certainly fun to watch, and as long as someone’s chasing someone else, this thing works. It’s when the action dies down that pretty much everything in this movie loses purpose and energy. Pretty much every attempt to develop characters fails miserably.

The acting certainly has something to do with it, but not everybody in this film is bad. Let me start with the solid performances. Idris Elba proves to be a great leader, and is anything, his character is the most likeable for sure. Matt Dillon plays a convincing cop, and so does Jay Hernandez, but the film lost me with Chris Brown, T.I. and Hayden Christensen. Sorry, but they try too hard to act too cool.

Needless to say, “Takers” doesn’t offer us anything new in terms of the heist genre. Our gang comes up with a plan to steal money, and along the way, they hit some unexpected bumps. Next thing you, they take care of the problems, and before you know it, you’re watching them engage in a huge showdown to determine who makes it and who doesn’t. Nothing new here at all…

What could attract audiences eventually is the well-known cast and the consistent action. “Takers” hasn’t been pushed that much in terms of marketing, so we’ll have to see how it performs. I don’t expect big numbers, but people may be curious enough to see what this thing is about. And yes, as I already mentioned, it’s certainly not a boring movie. It entertains for sure, but it just doesn’t surprise enough.

Freaky quote: "We're takers. That's we do for a living. We take." - Idris Elba

The final word: The release of “Takers” was delayed after Brown and T.I. got in trouble with the law, but it’s here for people to enjoy or hate. Although I probably won’t revisit the film, I admit it kept me engaged for the most part. Luessenhop has what it takes to direct action, and that’s what eventually saves his film. Everything else in “Takers” is just totally forgettable.

Article by Franck Tabouring