| Takers | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | John Luessenhop |
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| Screenplay by |
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| Starring | |
| Music by | Paul Haslinger |
| Cinematography | Michael Barrett |
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| Distributed by | Screen Gems |
| Release date(s) | August 27, 2010 |
| Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $32 million[1] |
| Box office | $70,587,268[2] |
Takers[3] (formerly known as Bone Deep) is a 2010 crime film directed by John Luessenhop from a story and screenplay written by Luessenhop, Gabriel Casseus, Peter Allen, John Rogers, and Avery Duff. It features an ensemble cast that includes Matt Dillon, Chris Brown, Idris Elba, T.I., Jay Hernandez, Paul Walker, Hayden Christensen, and Zoë Saldaña. The film was released on August 27, 2010.[4]
The film follows a group of professional bank robbers (Michael Ealy, Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen, Paul Walker, Idris Elba) who specialize in spectacular robberies, as they are pulled into one last job by a recently paroled cohort (T.I.) only to be pitted against a hard-boiled detective (Matt Dillon) and his partner (Jay Hernandez) who interrupt their heist.[5][6][7]
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Two detectives, Jack Welles (Matt Dillon) and Eddie Hatcher (Jay Hernandez), investigate a daring heist by a group of well-organized bank robbers. The crew, led by Gordon Cozier (Idris Elba), consists of John (Paul Walker), A.J. (Hayden Christensen), and brothers Jake (Michael Ealy) and Jesse (Chris Brown) Attica. The crew is without a former member, Ghost (T.I.), who was caught during a previous robbery 5 years ago. In his absence, Jake has begun a relationship with his former girlfriend Lilly (Zoe Saldana), who has accepted his proposal.
Ghost surprises the crew after getting paroled. He insists he harbors no ill feelings toward the crew for abandoning him and draws them into a heist of an armored car for a $30 million dollar payoff. Meanwhile, Welles begins to zero in on some of the members of the crew and comes up with evidence that a second heist is in the making.
The heist does not go as well as planned, though the crew manages to make off with the money. Detective Welles spots Jesse during his getaway via the subway and pursues him on foot. A protracted chase ensues during which Jesse is cornered and he is forced to shoot Detective Hatcher in his escape. Despite his partner's best efforts, Hatcher dies from his wounds.
Jesse reconvenes with the rest of the crew at a hotel room and admits to the shooting of Hatcher and this almost results into a confrontation between Jesse and Gordon. Russian gangsters immediately storm the room and attempt to gun down everyone present except for Ghost, who earlier snuck out through a window. Ghost had previously cut a deal with the Russian gangsters to kill his former crewmates in exchange for half of the heist's take. A.J. dies in the ensuing firefight but Jake manages to kill the Russians. Jake and Jesse return home where, to his horror, Jake finds Lilly's lifeless body. The police surround their home and shoot the two when they make their suicide charge outside.
Gordon and John separate to make their escape but realize Ghost intends to take all of their money, which is being held by Scott (Johnathon Schaech), a well-connected fence. Ghost sneaks onto Scott's private plane and kills him, taking their laundered money in two large suitcases. Gordon and Detective Welles arrive and a three-way Mexican Standoff results in which Ghost hits both Gordon and Welles. As Ghost prepares to finish off Gordon, John arrives and shoots him dead. He and an injured Gordon take the money and drive off, with Gordon's sister Naomi (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) in tow. A gravely-wounded Welles manages to call 911 for help on his cell phone.
As John and Gordon drive off, John asks Gordon "Are we good?" and Gordon replies by saying "All signs point to it." (a reoccurring dialogue between the two characters, usually used before a job). The film ends without revealing whether either Gordon or Welles survive their injuries.
Takers received negative reviews from critics, garnering a 30%, or 4.5/10 rating, on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, with the site's consensus being "Takers boasts some gripping set pieces and keeps things moving quickly, but its two-dimensional characters, clichéd script, and brazenly derivative plot make it hard to recommend."[8] Yahoo Movies critics gave the movie an average C grade saying, "Takers is almost a good little heist movie."[9] Author Stephen King, in his end of the year Entertainment Weekly column, listed it at #5 of his best films of 2010. He says that "the climax does strain credulity, but the characters feel real & the armored-car heist is the best action sequence in 2010" (EW 12/3/10 page 26).
The film was number one at the box office during its opening weekend, making $20,512,304. Takers made its US debut on approximately 2,600 screens at 2,206 locations. According to Box Office Mojo, "The heist thriller tripled the start of Armored, and it came in only a bit behind last summer's higher-profile The Taking of Pelham 123. Its initial attendance was also nearly 50 percent greater than similar titles like Dead Presidents, and Street Kings."[10] Takers was made available on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on January 18, 2011.[11]
According to humormillmag.com, Screen Gems is planning on producing a sequel. The film would be a prequel of how the crew came together as well as how T.I.'s character would end up in jail, leading to the events of the original film.[12]
California on Location Awards