Takers (2010)

 

**This post contains spoilers**

The Story- A tight crew of professional bank robbers contemplates accepting a high stakes job from Ghost (Tip Harris), a member of the gang, who just finished a five year prison sentence. Thomas (Idris Elba), John (Paul Walker), Jake (Michael Ealy), and A.J. (Hayden Christensen) all have their doubts, but the money is just too tempting to resist. 

The gang questions Ghost’s motivations, but John, A.J., Thomas, Jake, and his younger brother, Jesse (Chris Brown) execute their plans to follow through with the heist. The crew is pursued by Detective Jack Welles (Matt Dillion) and his partner, Eddie Hatcher (Jay Hernandez). Risks are apart of a bank robber’s life, and a betrayal from within the group threatens to jeopardize the mission.

My Thoughts-They’re bank robbers, but the crew in Takers are also presented as likable characters. Thomas is struggling to help his sister, Naomi (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) with her drug addiction. Jake is serious about caring for and protecting Jesse, and Jake loves his girlfriend, Lilly (Zoe Saldana). Thomas and A.J. are just two cool and easygoing  guys, who are dedicated team players. There’s nothing sleazy about the crew. They’re not into blowing all their money on drugs and women. It’s a gang featuring efficient professionals, a close family willing to die for each other, if things go south.

The opposition? Matt Dillion’s Jack is a burnt-out detective trying to juggle work and his family life, often prioritizing his duties as a detective over his own daughter. Eddie stole money from a drug bust, but he did it to try and help his family, because he’s drowning in debt. To cap off a sad ending for Eddie, he drops his guard during a face-off with Jesse, allowing Jesse to shoot and kill him.

Outside of just doing their jobs, there’s really not a strong conflict between both sides. You can look at the majority of the characters in Takers, and easily find redeemable qualities. I was hoping for a stronger blood feud, but it’s more of a simple “they’re bad guys, and we have to stop them” mindset from Jack’s side.

One big score! The job, where everything could possibly go wrong…and that’s exactly what happens. Ghost is a traitor, playing both sides. His plan involved pitting his crew and Sergei’s (Gideon Emery) gang against each other, allowing Ghost to take all the money for himself after everyone else is dead.

Okay. I get that, but did they REALLY have to make it so obvious? You can easily tell Ghost is still bitter about being caught on old job, that cost him five years of his life in prison. Ghost also resents Jake for stealing Lilly away from him, while he was locked away. The snide look Ghost gave Lilly before the heist, his constant smart remarks throughout the movie, and he’s very open about how resents the gang for forgetting about him. And to make matters worse, the crew openly acknowledges Ghost is someone, who can’t be trusted.

They could’ve tried to throw a curveball? At least make an attempt at a believable swerve, or tease the possibility of Ghost being a true team player. Ghost’s impending betrayal kills a lot of the tension in Takers. You know it’s coming eventually, so it’s just a lot of waiting around for the moment, when he officially turns on the gang.

T.I. delivers a solid performance. I could easily believe and buy into his character. Ghost has a skeevy personality, an irritating and cocky jerk, who only cares about himself and punishing his friends. Idris Elba always brings a strong presence to his characters. Thomas is a leader, and Elba does a good job of showing frustration and anger, as he tries to help Naomi through an agonizing rehab process. 

There’s a lot of showing off in the early stages of the movie. The crew lives a lavish lifestyle. They wear nice suits, a fancy club is their hangout spot, and it’s a cool all-star team of bank robbers. 

The opening heist provided a good spark for the movie. The action and the thrills picked up again after the chaotic fallout from the final heist. And the shootout scene at the hotel really worked, as the violent and intense turning point before the big standoff at the airport. Takers had a lot of potential. It’s predictable, but Takers is still a decent and entertaining heist film, that delivers a solid adrenaline rush during the home stretch.

Rating- 5/10