Review of Takers (2010) by Horrorboy — 25 Jan 2011

Although TAKERS can be potentially one-dimensional with it's main cast of characters and clichéd in it's own story, climatic actions scenes and decent acting help bring some some momentum to the table.

TAKERS stars a whole list of popular hip-hop artists, a few talented actors, and Hayden Christensen, blends them all into one film in hopes of producing a movie that will attract the modern film audience.

While it eventually does just that, other types of individuals may be able to discover it's flaws without much trouble. The buildup in TAKERS is like any typical heist movie. It opens with a bank heist, the robbers make out with the money, and then they decide to perform another heist soon thereafter.

The main group of five is approached by an older comrade of theirs named 'Ghost' (T.I.) who was released on probation for good behavior on a sentence from robbery 5 years previously. He suggests the 5 perform a heist differently this time; steal $20 million from a pair of armored vans via 'Italian Job' style.

What follows is the usual build-up of the heist and the problems of the people involved, which is the real problem. The term 'forced character buildup' comes in clearly at this point. I really never cared for any of the main central characters due to their single dimensional personalities.

While there is the drug stricken sister of Elba and the awkward father-daughter relationship of Dillon, that pair of backstories is really the only ones the audience is presented to throughout the film.

In a film so titled 'TAKERS', the audience isn't taken it, persay, by the characters. You really don't get to know them, and its hard to find sympathy when negative things happen to each of them. TAKERS does house some great action scenes at times, and climatic shootouts that kept me suspended on who was going to get out alive.

I was also fond of the Chris Brown chase later on in the film, and his broad range of acrobatic skills kept me entertained until it's end. The acting, at least from a few actors, is decent. Dillon is great as always, and Walker and Ealy prove to show that they have decent acting skills.

Chris Brown was decent as well as T.I. Hayden Christensen still needs some more time in acting school. Although TAKERS is a clichéd and unoriginal heist film, it's many action scenes held my attention throughout, and the acting from the more veteran actors was a relieve.

TAKERS never brings anything new to the table in any means, but it does bring some variety and excitement for the more modern viewers.