DVD
REVIEW: TAKERS
1/14/11
OVERVIEW: The action-packed heist thriller TAKERS breaks in on Blu-ray and DVD this January 18, 2011, courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Featuring the year’s coolest ensemble of actors, including Matt Dillon (Armored, Crash), Idris Elba (American Gangster, Obsessed), Paul Walker (Fast & Furious, Eight Below), Chris Brown (Stomp the Yard, This Christmas), Michael Ealy (2 Fast 2 Furious, Seven Pounds), Grammy®-winning rapper Tip “T.I.” Harris (A.T.L., TV’s “Entourage”) and Hayden Christensen (Jumper, Star Wars: Episodes I-III), TAKERS is the slickly entertaining tale of a team of expert bank robbers taking on their biggest heist yet. Co-starring Jay Hernandez (Hostel, Quarantine), TAKERS exploded at the box office this past summer, wowing audiences with its breathtaking action, cat-and-mouse suspense and shocking climax. Now, action fans can take home the thrills as TAKERS arrives on Blu-ray and DVD, armed with a loot of exciting bonus features!
SYNOPSIS: A notorious group of criminals (Elba, Walker, Harris, Brown, Christensen and Ealy) continue to baffle police by pulling off perfectly executed bank robberies. They are in and out like clockwork, leaving no evidence behind and laying low in between heists. But when they attempt to pull off one last job with more money at stake than ever before, the crew finds their plans interrupted by a hardened detective (Dillon) who is hell-bent on solving the case.
REVIEW: Heist films revolved around the ultimate master plan of an individual or individuals to break the rules and their avoidance of getting caught in the process. The majority of these films captivate audiences with its thrills and the cleverness of its stories. Takers has very few of these genre’s characteristics, as filmmakers gave the film an action/drama approach that basically broke the movie into two different films; a slow, boring, long overacted first half that takes forever to develop and an energetic breathless action second half that end up saving the film from a complete disaster.
Takers attempts to set some drama in its first half; however it seems like the filmmakers didn’t realize their limitation in terms of cast and plot. Most of the scenes in this first half are just dramatic cliché’s that have being used so many times that slowed down the film’s pace to appoint that I was regretting being in theater. To make things worst the filmmakers attempted to create all this melodrama with this cast. A cast that is exceptional in action sequences, but that is not at their best when it comes to drama department. When you start seeing Paul Walker as you best dramatic actor in a film, you know that something is wrong.
The same thing can’t be said about the second half of the film, which turns out to be the completely opposite. A half full of creative stunts, excitement; including a 5 minutes foot chase that left me breathless. There is not doubt that director John Luessenhop and the cast brought the best to the table during this part of the film.
At the end there is so much adrenaline that indirectly makes you forget the disappointing beginning which almost self destroys the film and opens the doors of director John Luessenhop as a creative action film visionary.
DVD: The film is
presented in widescreen with a 2.40:1 aspect ration preserving its theatrical
format. Sony
Pictures Home
Entertainment has done it again with this transfer. Not only the picture looks
excellent in this release, also the sound it is good. A
Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround providing a nice complement to the
picture it also includes English, French and Spanish
subtitles.
In terms of Special Features the DVD
doesn't include much. It only includes a Filmmakers and Cast
feature commentary and the "Yeah Ya Know(Takers) by T.I -
Music Promo.
VIDEO:
Widescreen (2.40:1) [16:9 Transfer]
AUDIO:
English
and French 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles - English French and Spanish
SPECIAL
FEATURES:
Commentary with Director John Luessenhop, Producer Will Packer, Producer Jason Geter and Tip “T.I.” Harris
“Yeah Ya Know (Takers”)” by T.I. – Music Promo
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