Director: John Luessenhop
Run Time: 1 hrs. 47 min.
Rating: PG-13
The Bouw-Man.
If you attend the movies pretty regularly, you probably realize that this film has been part of the preview scope for about a year. Originally it was supposed to come out in January, but for whatever reason has been delayed to a late August start date. When I first saw this trailer back in 2009 I was not all that excited to see it, and nothing has really changed. Films about bank robberies are pretty common fare, but very few are memorable enough to warrant any consideration. In my humble opinion, “Heat” will always be the “curve setter” when it comes to heist movies. What made it special was the outlined details and preparation that each side exhibited before and after the eventual climatic bank robbing scene. The acting wasn’t too bad either, highlighted by film legends Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro. “Takers” appears to have nothing on “Heat,” unless you think Paul Walker and Idris Elba will one day take home an Oscar.
It’s funny when the one thing that stands out from the trailer is the stupid looking hat Hayden Christensen is wearing. The preview is chalked full of systematic visuals (money, automatic weapons, car chases) and audios (loud music, lame one-liners) for the unfortunate audience member who had to sit through it. You have to wonder if the producers really thought they had something special here, or if they were trying to exactly replicate a common formula using scarce material.
Prediction.
With little excitement brewing over “Takers,” I’m thinking this one will be a truly forgettable film. Unless there’s a large contingent of T.I. fans who are anxious to see his film debut, I can’t see “Takers” hitting anything close to double digits (in millions that is) during its opening weekend. $6.5 million for this delayed dud.
Opening Weekend Gross: $6.5 Million
Noodles.
By my count there are at least four things about this movie that make it destined for mediocrity...The fact that its an adult themed movie (crime, violence, mature sexual situations- think about the ladies in the pool) and its rated PG-13 is a turn off right out of the gate. It says that producers wanted to make the movie accessible to kids via the rating, so now we can expect the violence to be violent but bloodless, and our criminals will talk like something on an NBC cop drama. Why couldn't this have been rated R? At least then you know that they took the story to its gritty roots. I don't want to watch this movie if its tame enough for my 13 year old to watch with me.
The last three things that bother me about this film are a few of its "actors." I'm not a huge fan of rappers / actors, with the exception of Mos Def & Will Smith. So when I saw T.I. grinding his way through a few lines, I was a little disappointed. Add to that mix Chris Brown, who I have yet to see in anything that makes me want to spend a couple bucks on a movie ticket. And finally, Mannequin Skywalker himself Hayden Christensen! I cannot say enough how, unimpressed I am by this young actor. Maybe I'm biased because I love Star Wars and I feel like his acting ruined what was supposed to be the fan boy's dream trilogy. Well to be fair George Lucas shares a huge part of the blame there, but I digress...
I just don't see people lining up in droves to see this movie. The action sequences seem sparse. There's the one bank job that establishes the crew, then it seems like they'll spend the rest of the movie setting up for the big job at the end, where they're "whoa" moment is Chris Brown jumping off a building onto a car. Not to mention a truck heist that is very similar to the one done in 'The Italian Job.' (Watch to about 2:40 to see the similarities) I hope I'm wrong here as I think there are too many crappy movies out right now and we need something good to watch. However, only time and the weekend box office will tell.
Prediction.
Movies like this are being received with luke warm turnout lately, and no one is excited by the cast on this one. Notable exceptions for Matt Dillon, Idris Elba, and Zoe Saldana. Under better economic times I think this could open for 18-19 Million, but right now...
Opening Weekend: Gross: $9 Million
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