Takers

Director: John Luessenhop
Starring: Matt Dillon, T.I., Idris Elba
Time Out rating:

The Wire’s Idris Elba heads up a West Coast posse of sharp-dressed kleptos who do one big job a year and nightclub it the other 364. Matt Dillon is the fuzz on their tail, a grizzled obsessive in love with his job and neglectful of his family. The crooks’ slo-mo power-walk away from an exploding helicopter puts the likelihood of their capture into perspective: Jurisprudence takes a holiday when thievery looks this damn good. But the gum in the works is ex-con Ghost (hip hop artist T.I.), who brings tidings to Elba and crew of an armoured car stickup to end ’em all.

It’s obvious that the dung will eventually pelt the spinning blades; in terms of plot, Takers is as derivative as a direct-to-video quickie. Yet for all its faux Michael Mann–isms (ooh, that sharp-edged LA architecture!), the film is still rather enthralling. Director John Luessenhop’s aggressive approach to action scenes is frequently inspired, especially the parkour-peppered foot chase between Dillon, fellow flatfoot Jay Hernandez and yard-stomping criminal Chris Brown. And the casting, from lead roles to supporting, is uniformly terrific: It’s a particular pleasure to see the underutilised Marianne Jean-Baptiste (of Mike Leigh’s Secrets & Lies) steal scenes as Elba’s drug-addict sis.

Takers opens at Ginza Cine Pathos on November 19