Takers Blu-ray Review

“Takers” features an all-star cast comprised of only mildly talented actors, those of which include Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Jay Hernandez, Michael Ealy, Tip “TI” Harris, Chris Brown, and Hayden Christensen.

Matt Dillon and Jay Hernandez play detectives attempting to solve a recent bank robbery, one that was so well executed that it would be impossible for a random thug from the streets to pull off.

The hunted are the takers, a fine group of suave thieves (Hayden Christensen, Idris Elba, Michael Ealy & Chris Brown) led by Paul Walker. After a long stretch in prison, an old associate Dalonte’ Rivers (Tip “TI” Harris) reunites with the crew, and the ultimate job; robbing an armored truck worth $20 million. After some reluctancy, and convincing, the crew agrees to do the job. The rest can pretty much be figured out on its own, as it follows the basic heist protocol, filled with mindless mayhem and plenty of explosions.

As I mentioned, the acting in the film isn’t the best, especially the scenes with Chris Brown. Watching him act is almost torturous, though whomever they got to do his parkour scenes is pretty amazing. The other actors do well enough, with the better of the takers being Idris Elba and Michael Ealy.

As I watched this film I couldn’t quite make out what it was trying to be. At certain times it felt as if it wanted to be “Oceans 11,” but could never quite obtain that level of class. But at other times it seemed as if it wanted to be nothing more than a typical gangster heist film. The odd combination didn’t really pay off in the end, as it left me confused on the tone and mood of the film.

As you’d expect with a Sony Pictures release, this film is perfect. The blacks are deep and inky; the colors are well defined and rich. Everywhere from the club scenes, to the explosions, the colors are perfect but completely natural.

One of my favorite scenes in the film is the first time we’re taken to the club. The blacks in the dark corners are perfect, while the colors splashing across the room are vibrant, all while keeping the skin tones of the patrons believable for the lighting situation. The film was shot digitally, and this scene shows the leaps and bounds that digital filmmaking has grown towards, being equal in filmic quality to a movie actually shot on film.

This film is delivered with a near-perfect DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless audio transfer that you’d expect from Sony. Unfortunately, there’s nothing special about the release. If you’ve been watching any new action releases lately you’ve heard the same quality or perhaps even better.

The dialogue is perfectly crisp and clear, as is the background score, and the gunshots have a nice, realistic pop. Unfortunately a lot of the gunfights and explosions that comprise some of the best scenes in the film, are shot in slow motion, which ruins any chance at a booming bass rumble.

  • Audio Commentary with Director John Luessenhop, Producers Will Packer and Jason Geter, and actor “T.I.” Harris.
  • Executing the Heist: The Making of Takers.
  • Take Action! A making of the film’s more intense action scenes.
  • Music Promo: “Yeah Ya Know (Takers)” by T.I.
  • Previews of additional Sony titles.
  • BD-Live.
  • MovieIQ Enabled.

“Takers” is a well shot, but only moderately acted popcorn film. The PQ/AQ are near reference quality with just a few instances that could be improved upon. If you’re a fan of the heist genre, this is a film that you’d probably enjoy. If you’re only a casual viewer of this genre, it’d probably be best to wait until you see the film on sale.

*The Reviewers opinion of this film did not factor into the bottom line, that is an average score of the other areas reviewed.