Takers

Just to let you know, just to put this up front at the jump, "Takers" isn't the most original film ever done. In fact I think Michael Mann could justify filing a lawsuit against the filmakers of this movie because if this isn't a remake of Mann's "Heat" starring De Niro and Pacino then it's the sequel. Oh and if you missed the shootout at the end of "True Romance" starring Slater and Arquette then rest easy my fine readers, it's in here. As is the blatant and brazen rip off of "The Italian Job" starring Wahlberg and Theron. In fact that movie is even mentioned by name for the heist these well dressed men are about to pull. Like I said, it's not the most original movie ever made.

However, this movie does have a few things going for it and one of them like I stated was the wardrobe. I would have to say that only the Ocean's 11, 12, and 13 movies were better dressed than the people in this film. I would bet that a good portion of the budget was spent on the wardrobe alone. Add to that the fact that this movie had a cast that pretty much included everybody you could think of and even a few surprises and you'll forgive the cliche story line and the blatant rip offs of the movies I listed above.

Idris Elba does his best DeNiro as "Gordon" and leads his well dressed and precise team of thieves on a bank heist as the movie opens. Thankfully the director of this movie, John Luessenhop allows Idris to speak in his native Hackney, England accent. A refreshing change in my opinion (and just for the record I think he'd make a great Bond if they ever make another one of those movies). In his team are Michael Ealy, Paul Walker, Hayden Christensen, and Chris Brown and they are a finely tuned machine a with nary a disagreement between any of them. What Idris says is law and the team usually falls in line. That is until an old acquaintance gets released from prison a year early for good behavior.

T.I. plays the appropriately name "Ghost" and he comes back to the gang with a job that would be their biggest payday yet. Michael Ealy's character "Jake" wants him dead immediately but get's overruled by the team because they want to hear about his "job". "Ghost" has a serious bone to pick with his old crew though thanks to a heist gone bad back in 2004 which got him sent to prison. He lost his girlfriend, the always lovely Zoey Saldana to Michael Ealy's "Jake" in the process so there really is no love lost between those two at all.

Matt Dillon does his best Pacino playing detective "Jack Wells" while tracking down this crew while going through a divorce and potentially losing his daughters love, sound familiar? Someone get Michael Mann on the phone. He's truculent with the higher ups and even downright abrasive when it comes to dealing with Internal Affairs. His main focus is capturing the bad guys who robbed the bank and nothing else matters. Rounding out the cast are Glynn Turman, Steve Harris, Johnathon Schaech, Jay Hernandez, and Marianne Jean-Baptiste (who I think has been highly underrated her entire career). It's quite the cast and they are deftly directed by John Luessenhop, his second film and first with a budget this large I'm sure but you couldn't tell that by what you see on the screen. While you do see his inspiration from other films and directors he still does an okay job of pulling you into this movie. Sometimes the camera work is sloppy and while you have no idea what's going on at times it's still a solid job. The movie is stylish and glossy and at times even artistic. Scored by Paul Haslinger the music fits the images but sadly is ultimately forgettable.

Would I recommend this movie? Hard to say. That would depend on whether you liked "Heat", "True Romance", and "The Italian Job" and you wouldn't mind seeing all those movies again just this time all at the same time.

See you at the theater!