Film File - Takers

Gordon Betts (Idris Elba), John Rahway (Paul Walker), AJ (Hayden Christensen), and the Attica brothers, Jake (Michael Ealy) and Jesse (Chris Brown), are a gang of friends who finance their extravagant lifestyle by staging high-stakes bank robberies. The key is never to get caught - a feat the gang have so far managed by planning everything down to the tiniest detail, leaving no clues and pulling off just a single job per year. Their latest criminal caper, a $2 million heist, attracts the attention of LAPD detective Jack Welles (Matt Dillon), an old-school cop who has sacrificed his marriage, his child and any semblance of a personal life for his love of the job. Despite a lack of support from the police department, Welles is determined to track down the elusive gang before they strike again. As the crew celebrates their latest daring robbery in a chic downtown cocktail lounge, Ghost (TI Harris), a former gang member recently released from prison, drops in with an unexpected proposal. The only member of the crew arrested for an earlier job, Ghost presents a plan he says will net each of them enough money to hang up their ski masks forever: the robbery of an armoured car carrying over $12m. The only catch is that the heist has to happen in five days or the opportunity will evaporate. Running against the self-preservation radar which has kept them free for so long, the prospect of imminent retirement proves too great and they decide to risk a daring daylight hold-up on a crowded downtown Los Angeles street. With just a few days to prepare, the crew sets in motion an intricate scheme that unknowingly puts them on a collision course with a group of ruthless Russian mobsters. In the meantime, Welles - the cop with an instinct for crime-solving - is unravelling a web of evidence that takes him from a smalltime arms dealer to the Russians and finally on to crew leader Gordon Betts. With the clock ticking down, ancient rivalries, unexpected double-crosses, unknown enemies and just plain bad luck complicate the plan, resulting in a deadly showdown no-one saw coming. Giving nods to many a heist film, especially 'Heat', 'The Usual Suspects' and Tarantino's 'True Romance', 'Takers' is an entertaining cinema outing - but requiring a fair suspension of belief throughout proceedings. Directed by newcomer John Lussenhop, the script is a nice stew of cops, criminals and some very nifty robbery scenes that hold the attention. The bad guys have all the best lines - a team ably led by The Wire's Elba - while Dillon as the obsessed lawman is effective, if entirely too predictable at times. Set in Los Angeles, this homage to 'Heat' is a poor imitation - especially the dialogue, which at times is forced and unconvincing. 'Takers' is mainly concerned with style over substance in everything from architecture to fashion to cars. When they're not slapping on the ski masks for their daring jobs, these lads are more like Man United footballers on vacation with snazzy threads, champagne at every turn, Cuban cigars and penthouse pads. Despite its weak points, however, 'Takers' is an engaging bit of escapism - and, God knows, we can all use some of that these days.