MOVIE REVIEW: Takers

Takers
Directed by: John Luessenhop
Starring: Paul Walker, Hayden Christensen, T.I., Idris Elba, Matt Dillon, Jay Hernandez, Chris Brown, Zoe Saldana
By: Nevra Azerkan
Rating:

This movie was dubbed the young Ocean’s Eleven and I will admit that I was attracted to the ocean-esque plot pattern and admittedly also to Paul Walker, Hayden Christensen and Jay Hernandez. I was, however, skeptical on the performances of T.I. and Chris Brown. But with Idris Elba and Zoe Saldana as reinforcements I thought that this film could come out, at the least, decent.

Takers starts off with John Rahway (Paul Walker), A.J. (Hayden Christensen), Gordon Jennings (Idris Elba) and brothers Jake (Michael Ealy) and Jesse Attica (Chris Brown) who are a team of professional “takers” who have just completed a high paying bank job. They are living in style and are in semi-retirement until Ghost (T.I.), who used to be a part of the team, is released from prison and sets out to get the guys to do another robbery. Problem is Ghost took the fall for the last job and now Jake is dating his former girlfriend (Zoe Saldana), so has he come back for revenge? Hot on their trail are police officers Jack Welles (Matt Dillon) and his partner, Eddie Hatcher (Jay Hernandez).

Paul Walker and Idris Elba pretty much steal the show in this one. They come off as more seasoned than the rest of the cast. Matt Dillon and Jay Hernandez come in as a close second, they have a powerful onscreen partnership. Many were not happy with T.I.’s acting, but I didn’t completely cringe with his performance. I cannot say the same about Chris Brown however. I’m not sure how or why he got cast, but perhaps he should stick to making music. The one person that should have had more screen time was Zoe Saldana. Her character seemed to be on the sidelines and her role felt more like a cameo.

Besides the action and eye candy, there is not much depth. But are you expecting more than that when it comes to a storyline such as this? Guys will be happy with the explosions and the women will enjoy a variety of young attractive guys. But for most, this will not be a must see and your best bet would be to wait for the DVD release. As for the Ocean’s reference, while this is definitely a more youthful version, the heists do not compare nor do the group dynamics.