Takers

Taker It or Leave It
Takers, PG-13, **1/2, Matt Dillon, Paul Walker Idris Elba, Jay Hernandez Hayden Christensen, Tip Harris, Michael Ealy, Chris Brown, Marianne Jean-Baptiste. Screen Gems film. Director John Luessenhop. Length 107 minutes.

As the movie opens, the audience meets two police officers and a group of bank robbers. The officers are going to make an arrest while the bank robbers are in another part of town preparing to rob a bank.
We follow these characters throughout the movie. Learning about some of their personal lives and their dedication to their chosen methods of making a living, “Takers” had potential to be a much better movie. It just skimmed the service with over the top action.
The bank robbers are all high class professionals. They are precise in their methods.
They have a financial expert who hides their money in off shore accounts, and the robbers wait a long time between robberies.
Of course, the police officers have to deal with some very dangerous individuals and people who will do anything to make money.
Unfortunately, it does not matter if the criminals are high class thieves, drug dealers, or petty thieves, the consequences of breaking the law endangers the lives of everyone involved and creates problems for police officers.
I have the highest respect for professions that help protect citizens while helping the public. Police officers, firemen, Pickwick Electric workers, undercover agents, and civil servants that put their lives on the line everyday in order to keep us safe and out of harms way.
I say this because of a situation in this movie that tests the character of one of the participants. What would we do to help one of our children or relatives? This is enough about the incident in the movie.
The bank robbers are Idris Elba, Michael Ealy, Hayden Christensen, and Chris Brown, Paul Walker and Tip Harris. The police officers are Matt Dillon and Jay Hernandez. The story moves at lightning speed that gives the audience lots of gunplay, car chases, and mayhem that will satisfy action thrill seekers. It has intense moments giving the audience some suspense.
Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays the sister of Idris Elba who is having drug addiction problems. The background of the characters creates some interest with the audience. T.I. Harris returning from a stretch in prison from the last robbery convinces the gang to rob again within a few days of their last heist. This goes against their rules, but the plan appears air tight.
From personal problems among the police officers and dilemmas among the gang, the audience observes the situations resulting in some surprises for the viewers.
The blurred action scenes were disturbing to me. I prefer my action with clarity and detail and not impressionism or imprecise visual effects.
In summation, the movie had some strong points about personal problems among some of the characters. It also demonstrates the camaraderie among the good guys and the bad guys. The movie had more potential than it gave to the audience.
If it does well at the box office, it has the possibility for a sequel.