"Takers" DVD, Blu-Ray Movie Review

"Takers"

DVD, Blu-Ray Movie Review

By our guest blogger, Matthew Schimkowtiz

Bank heist movies come with a certain amount of baggage. In general, one wants to show the crafty criminals behind the stickups, and the desperate cop hot on their tail. These films show two groups at the top of their game and the similarities between them.

In this regard, "Takers" fulfills its duty. Matt Dillon hunts a group of professional thieves, who, expectedly, remain one step ahead. However, "Takers" stumbles for this very reason. The split narrative hijacks the film's focus, offering illogical situations and characters. So, while director John Lussenhopp struggles to keep up with both stories, he loses his audience.

The film's plot is standard fare for this type of movie. Fresh off a lucrative job, a group of professional bank robbers runs into their former partner, Ghost (T.I. Harris), who is just released from jail. He offers them a job, which they admit to be too good to be true, but because the payoff is so rewarding, they take him up on it.

While they plan the heist, Detective Jack Welles (Matt Dillon) inches closer to their operation.

Welles is the film's biggest distraction. His characteristic is to play generic cop, but because the Dillon is the film's biggest name, he hogs much of the screen time with problems that could be breezed over with a line of exposition.  Lussenhope believes he's the film's dramatic center, but Dillon ultimately serves to slow down the plot.

The split between cop and robber is ultimately where the film falters. Unsure where our sympathies should lie, Lussenhope plays up both, which hinders the plot. Should we be concerned with Welles' pursuit or the robbers' heist? Without this distinction, each chase leaves us confused, as it is unclear whether Welles progresses the plot or thwarts it.

Since it’s unclear who the main character is, we're left wondering who these people are. We're never given a clear introduction to any of the robbers, so their personalities become interchangeable. Hayden Christensen distinguishes himself from Paul Walker by wearing a hat, but it's never clear who the character is. Anyone could do anything, making the film's action sequences boring and detached.

There's talent on display in "Takers." The cast certainly knows their way around action movies, and Lussenhope can choreograph a chase. Most of the problem comes form the script. The plotting is an afterthought and it ruins the movie.

Grade: C-