Takers descendsfrom a long line of superior heist pictures. The meticulous Los Angeles bankjob at the onset boasts many of the usual tricksthe choreographed assault ofmasked men in the bank lobby and disabled security camerasbut is shot in sucha whirlwind blur that you can barely appreciate the skillful criminality.Finally the gang lures a TV news copter to the bank roof and hijacks it astheir getaway vehicle, zipping past the Hollywoodsign as they make their escape. The crooks never break a sweat even whenblowing up their chopper and speeding off in expensive sports cars. Like muchof what follows, the grounding in actual possibility is slippery at best. Thecomputer-enhanced hijinks hijack the real action.
The twist in Takers is that the gang and the cops inpursuit are all sympathetic. The kingpin, Jennings(Idris Elba), has checked his sister into an expensive rehab clinic and plansto move her back to the Caribbean after onelast job. His multiethnic crew embodies honor among thieves, even while livingthe high life of hot tubs on a terrace overlooking the bright lights of Los Angeles. Both of thedetectives on their tail, Welles (Matt Dillon) and Hatcher (Jay Hernandez), aredevoted family men, albeit Welles pursues Jenningsthrough heavy traffic with his grade-school daughter in the passenger seat. Badparenting, or just a flat-footed step toward comic relief?
Internal Affairs ispressing down on the L.A.P.D. partners for breaking too many bones in the pursuitof justice. By contrast, the crooks seem eager to get on with their workwithout spilling blood. But anxiety enters the picture when a former gangmember, the cocky, self-assured Ghost (Tip “T.I.” Harris), elbows back in afterserving time. He’s got this great plan he worked out in prison with the help ofburly Russian mobsters. Jenningsjust doesn’t know for sure…
Composed from thepseudo-arty ticks beloved by some young filmmakersthe in-your-face close-ups,the restless camera and in-a-hurry editingTakersintroduces characters that could be more likable if they weren’t so thinlydrawn. It’s all been done before, but better.
