Takers MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +1 Content: -4

Matt Dillion, Paul Walker, Idris Elba. Action/crime caper. Written by Peter Allen II, Gabriel Casseus, John Luessenhop, Avery Duff. Directed by John Luessenhop.

FILM SYNOPSIS: When a group of notorious bank robbers attempt to pull off one last job, the crew find their plans interrupted by a hardened detective who is hell-bent on solving the case.

PREVIEW REVIEW: It begins like George Clooney’s Oceans 11 or TV’s Leverage, but then places intrigue and style behind, succumbing to Scarface-like violent action.

I guess I’m getting old. I have trouble with the spin usually put on movie genres that have been done to death. In this case, just when you think there’s going to be a moral – crime doesn’t pay – the filmmakers change directions. In Takers crime pays pretty well for some. Then there’s my two frequent complaints: the foul language and the bouncing camera.

“Phil, that’s how criminals talk.” I’ll take your word for that, but, as evidenced by all the movies now playing in theaters and on cable TV, so does everyone in Hollywood. We really are getting desensitized to the abuse of language thanks to the media. Same goes for the “stylish” use of the herky-jerky hand-held camera. Meant as a device to cause tension and aid in an antic pacing, this time its use actually gave me a headache.

One other thing I’m saddened about is that if I were to go back to a time when heist movies were as much psychological drama as action adventure, and when the crooks, no matter the lessons learned, had to pay for their crime, well, many would not wish to go that far back.

Just in case there are a few brave souls unafraid of black-and-white pictures, and care not that the film’s stars are all resting in the celestial firmament, allow me to suggest this DVD Alternative: The Asphalt Jungle. Sterling Hayden, Sam Jaffe and a scene-stealing newcomer, Marilyn Monroe, star in this gripping tale of a robbery that slowly falls apart. John Huston co-wrote and directed this taut crime caper that’s as much a character study as a suspense adventure.

Preview Reviewer: Phil Boatwright
Distributor: Sony Pictures