A bunch of tough guys plotting a bank heist in downtown Los Angeles have to play a cat-and-mouse game with local police in this action movie.

After the success of Ocean’s Eleven (and its two sequels), the Italian Job and The Bank Job, here comes the latest portrayal of robbers entitled Takers.

Takers is a story about a multiracial professional gang of criminals who make a living by becoming bank robbers to support their lavish lifestyle filled with fancy cars, pretty women and luxurious apartments.

The group comprises three best friends Gordon Betts (played by British actor Idris Elba), the most senior guy among the criminals; John Rahway (Paul Walker), Gordon’s best buddy; A.J. (Hayden Christensen), the weapons expert; and two Attica brothers, Jake (Michael Ealy), the gunman who owns a night club which is also a hangout place for the group; and the runner Jesse (Chris Brown).

A scene from action movie Takers. courtesy of Screen Gems

In performing their crimes, the guys carefully plan every robbery down to tiny details, carrying out best planned strategies and opting to do only one job per year to avoid identification and arrest.

The gang is celebrating their latest hit worth US$2 million when Ghost (Tip Harris or better known as T.I.), a member of the crew arrested on an earlier job and recently released from jail, drops by and enthusiastically proposes a tempting plan: to hijack armored cars carrying over $12 million. The money will surely be “enough” to allow them all to retire as bank robbers.

Ghost himself is a typical operator who just can’t wait to get back into the robbery business. However, they only have few days to prepare the plan or else it will just stay a dream.

Although performing two robberies close to each other is against the crew’s strict rules, they decide to take all the risks for this once-in-a-life-time chance to make so much money. Jake is one who doesn’t want to do this job as he’s got a feeling that Ghost is a bad person. But he finally joins the plan.

In a bid to represent the long arm of the law, filmmakers chose Academy Award nominee Matt Dillon to play LAPD Detective Jack Welles, an old-school cop who has sacrificed his personal life for the love of his job and is determined to trace the robbery.

He’s supported by his longtime partner and happily married Eddie Hatcher, played by Jay Hernandez.

If you love film and music, you must be familiar with the ensemble cast of guys representing talent from movies, television and music. Matt Dillon is a good choice as a workaholic detective, who neglects his daughter once he spends time with her due to his obsession in solving the big case.

He has been pretty familiar with police roles since he once starred as a racist police officer in Crash, which earned him an Oscar nomination.

Meantime, Elba is an actor who first caught audiences’ attention when he played Stringer Bell in the critically acclaimed TV series The Wire.

Starring as Elba’s right-hand man is Paul Walker, best recognized as Brian O’Conner in the Fast and Furious franchise, while Christensen is famous for his role as Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars series.

Even though he only gets a supporting role, Christensen makes an outstanding performance as a weapon builder, who is at the same time loves classic jazz and blues.   

Michael Ealy, used to play in comedy Barbershop and Barbershop 2, currently appears in hit TV series FlashForward, portraying CIA agent Marshall Vogel.

There are two musicians joining the cast: Grammy-winning hip hop singer and actor T.I. who portrays Ghost and Chris Brown, a recording artist well-known for his single Run It! and has been seen in several movies like Stomp the Yard and This Christmas.

Takers makes a promising start with a display of detailed and fast-paced robbery action, but it slowly loses its power. It’s lack of twists and turns might have surprised audiences.

It’s basically a cop and robber movie which involves a series of familiar Hollywood-style action scenes like firing guns and jumping from moving cars or from one building to another.

There is also a slow-motion scene where the men escape from a massive explosion going on behind them as they flee, without being hurt or even looking back at it.

Besides the focus on such stunning scenarios in this action-packed movie, the flick also highlights the personal stories of some of the characters, showing who they are when they are not behind their masks and leaving the audience hoping they will survive and get away with it.

Gordon, for instance, has a troubled drug addict sister Naomi (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) and is aiming at looking after his sister, while Jake has a hidden rivalry with Ghost since he is dating Ghost’s ex-girlfriend.

Even though there’s nothing special about the storyline, fans of the aforementioned actors will certainly line up to watch their favorite celebrities in action.

- Photo courtesy of Screen Gems

Verdict: A not-so-bad action movie for your weekend. Just don’t expect it will be as intriguing as Ocean’s Eleven or The Italian Job.

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