Takers

Introduction

Others may find this a little ludicrous but up until about the age of 35 I followed a rather strict but narrow moral code when watching films. I never minded watching villains in films on on TV, just as long as they got their comeuppance. Therefore I refused point blank to watch anything that effectively glamourised the criminal life and thus I missed out for years on the likes of The Godfather trilogy, Casino, Goodfellas, etc. I finally caved when The Godfather boxset came out and wanted to see what all the fuss was about and since then have caught up on some but not all of the films I missed over the years. I still won't watch any Brit gangster films, but that's simply because the few I've been exposed to were crap and its not subject matter I'm particularly interested in.

Anyway, onto Takers, a modern take on the Michael Mann film, Heat. A group of criminals have committed a series of daring bank robberies and walked away with absolute fortunes, said gang being Gordon Cozier (Idris Elba), John (paul Walker), Jake (Michael Ealy), A.J (Hayden Christensen) and Jake's brother Jesse (Chris Brown). Despite being incredibly close, the gang are very careful when it comes to their criminal activities, always leaving at least 12 months between jobs - a strategy that's always worked in their favour in the past. The gang also hide behind an air of respectability, running a rather swish nightclub. The only time the gang have ever come a cropper was back in 2004 when member Ghost (rapper T.I) was shot and then caught on a job, but went to serve his time without grassing up everyone else. Being a pretty moral bunch, the gang have kept Ghost's share of the proceeds in a bank account for the time when he is eventually released.

The gang have just pulled off another of their trademark robberies and looking to their normal cooling off period, when Ghost reappears on the scene unexpectedly. Released from prison early, Ghost brings an opportunity to his old gang that is too good to turn their noses up against, an armoured truck robbery that will net them $25 million. One problem, they only have eleven days to prepare for it. Despite some initial misgivings and Ghost's assurances that his information will come through, the gang throw themselves into the job, partly due to guilt over Ghost's incarceration.

Meanwhile on the other side of the law, detective Jack Welles (Matt Dillon) and his partner Eddie (Jay Hernandez) are busy trying to find out what they can about the gang after the last robbery and despite their own personal and family problems, find themselves getting quite close to identifying the Takers before they can pull of their latest heist...

Extras

Not really much in the way of extras on this one. Discounting the commentary, which I haven't had time to listen to, the two featurettes are roughly ten minutes apiece and don't really tell you that much.

Overall

This really is a tribute to Heat, if it wasn't actually mentioned in the extras by one of the writers then you'd know it from the way the story develops all the way to the denouement at an airport. That's not to say that it's a direct copy, it's not, but there are many similarities between the two. I really do like Heat and feel that its easily the superior film, but goddamit, I really liked this film as well. And a lot of that is down to the cast. Idris Elba is fantastic and really helped out by the likes of Paul Walker, Michael Ealy and Chris Brown. Hell, I even liked Hayden Christensen in this and I've not liked him in anything before. I don't know what it is, maybe it's the fact that he isn't the lead but part of an ensemble where he just mutters the odd line whilst sat with a hat perched on his head whilst being covered in tatoos. I suspect others may also take a rather more positive note of his acting in this one as well.

Takers is a rather stylish film that is very close to matching the quality of Heat, certainly in tone and style - the acting is good but only Elba really matches the intensity already set by De Niro and Pacino. Matt Dillon as the chasing cop is good but ultimately I didn't feel enough for his character to want him to catch the bad guys. On the other hand, despite it being quite clear that it wasn't going to happen, I actually cared enough about the majority of the gang to actually want them all to get away with it - even Christensen.

Some of the set pieces are rather good, the initial robbery and the armoured truck robbery in particular, but the on foot chase scene with Dillon and Hernandez chasing Chris Brown is rather spectacular. I've seen elements of parkour being used in films, most notably at the start of Casino Royale, but this chase is a superb example of this 'sport' on celluloid. More amazing is that apparently Chris Brown does about 95% of his own stunts so the vast majority of what you see on the screen is him and not some stunt double. It's quite breath-taking really.

Some people will be put off by the rather obvious comparisons to Heat, but whilst it wears its heart on its sleeve, this is very much its own film and well worth watching, and is good enough for repeat viewings. I really enjoyed this and it's definately a keeper.

Recommended.