Welcome to A-Z Movie Reviews. Every Sunday, for the next several months, I will be posting a review of a film in my home movie collection. How it works is, I will be reviewing movies in alphabetical order until I get to the letter Z (Yes, I do have a film that ends in Z). Now I realize there are many ways to alphabetize a film collection, but this is mine so don’t judge me. This is simply for fun.
First, let me preface this by saying my reason for buying and watching Takers at the time that I added it to my film collection, was strictly because of all the handsome man candy. I said what I said. I have no shame in admitting this but ya know what? It was worth the purchase and it’s one of my favorite action films. So…welcome to this week’s A-Z Movie Reviews.
What it’s about:
An elite crew of bank robbers sets up a daring heist after a former associate persuades them to target an armored car that could be their biggest score.
Takers is such a great film and I love it for many reasons but here are just a few of them.
The Cast
Like I said above, I bought Takers because of all the handsome male actors that I was familiar with. All jokes aside though, this cast is pretty damn awesome. Takers stars the late Paul Walker (John), Idris Elba (Gordon), Hayden Christensen (A.J.), Michael Ealy (Jake), Chris Brown Jesse), and T.I. (Ghost).
Every single one of these guys was amazing and their acting was on an entirely different level. One of the things I loved the most was the chemistry they all had. Michael Ealy’s character Jake and Chris Brown’s character Jesse play brothers and I really believed that relationship.
The rest of them are friends but their bond is like a brotherhood as well. I found the relationship to be somewhat reminiscent of the ladies in Set It Off and the guys in Four Brothers which I’ve talked about previously in one of my A-Z Movie Reviews.
Matt Dillon and Jay Hernandez who play Police Officers and partners Jack and Eddie, have great chemistry as well. They work together to solve the first bank heist that takes place at the beginning of the film. While they’re working on that case, they’ve also got their own set of personal drama to get through and their relationship is also like a brotherhood.
The Storyline
The premise for Takers is a basic one but it has a powerful message. The message of Takers, at least to me is that greed destroys lives. At the opening of Takers, John, Gordon, A.J., Jake, and Jesse have completed a bank job and are preparing to take a break. One of their members, Ghost is released from jail and shows up offering them another job that’s bigger than their previous one.
The guys are hesitant and suspicious of Ghost and his motives because he ended up in jail after a job gone bad in which he got caught. Jake and John are especially suspicious because they think that Ghost blames them for what happened. And to add insult to injury, Jake is now dating Ghost’s former flame Lilli (Zoe Saldana).
Ghost assures the guys he means them no ill will. They are still hesitant, even more so because they typically wait one year between jobs before doing another one and this time around, they only have five days to get things ready for the new job.
Because the job is far too tempting to pass up and greed is a powerful motivator the guys all agree to go through with it. Without getting into spoiler territory, let’s just say, as storylines like these go, things do not go according to plan, and the consequences are profound.
The Action
The action throughout Takers from beginning to end keeps you on the edge of your seat. The stunts are jaw-dropping and exhausting to watch. One of the biggest action sequences comes about halfway into the film during the crew’s new heist.
It’s highly elaborate and watching the team prep for it over the days leading up to it and how meticulous they are is interesting. All I kept thinking while watching was that heists are A LOT of work. With all the skills the guys had, they could have been doing jobs that were ya know, more law-abiding.
I highly recommend watching Takers if you haven’t already seen it. It’s a very entertaining film and it will keep you guessing.
Other Thoughts
- Matt Dillon plays a lot of the same characters who are broody and down on their luck.
- Yup. I still miss Paul Walker.
- Paul Walker’s pool entrance. That is all.
- Still obsessed with John’s home.
- Anytime I watch a movie that takes place in LA, I try to spot places I’ve been.
- Hayden Christensen oh how I love you in this movie.
- Michael Ealy, Idris Elba, ya’ll fine too.
- The guys should have told Ghost “Hell no” when he offered them the new job.
- Hey Jack, you do not take your daughter with you to chase after criminals.
- “This is LA, nothing runs on time.” True statement.
- That parkour chase sequence must have taken forever to shoot.
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