Takers (1/18/2011)

Starring: Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Hayden Christensen, Chris Brown, Michael Ealy, T.I. and Matt Dillon

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, a sexual situation/partial nudity and some language

Directed by John Luessenhop (Lockdown)

This is a pretty decent heist film.

Takers revolves around a notorious group of criminals who 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 may find their plans interrupted by a hardened detective who is serious on solving the case.

If you are a fan of heist films (Armored, The Town, Italian Job and of course Heat) then I think you will like Takers. Sure they all follow the same basic premise… a close team of guys who have “worked” together for a long time; they bring on a “new guy” to pull off one last job. But things go bad and bullets start flying. Truthfully, the only real difference is the cast…and with Hayden Christensen as part of that cast I was skeptical.

So let’s talk about the cast. Paul Walker, Idris Elba, and Matt Dillon were all great…but I expect entertaining performances from them. T.I. was…well he’s T.I. I mean seriously if you are expecting a just-below-average-performance from a rapper trying to be an actor…you won’t be disappointed. I was, however, surprised by Chris Brown, not only is he likable, but he has one of the best scenes in the movie. It’s a long chase scene through the streets of L.A. showing off some parkour skills. That leaves us with Hayden Christensen…who I find more annoying than Jar Jar Binks. He had a limited amount of screen time, so I found him tolerable.

Besides the cast, the action is the biggest star of the film. There is always something blowing up or getting shot…so if you enjoy a good action flick, keep this one in mind.

Listen there is nothing this heist film does that hasn’t already been done. In fact I kept thinking Takers is a great name for this movie…because they stole just about every scene from another film. Despite all that, I still found it fun and entertaining…so I’m giving it a Rental.



SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
There I one scene in the beginning where most of the guys hook up with some girls after their latest job. But other than that it is PG-13 violence and language the rest of the way through.



Conversation Starter

Three Simple Questions (with Answers You May Be Looking for):



Q: What’s the message/theme of this movie?

A: The film’s main characters are criminal who are ready to leave it all behind and go straight… “after one last job.” Truthfully this is a weak, overused way of gaining audience sympathy for them, as if the crime the thief is going to commit is okay, since he doesn’t really mean it. That’s why you find yourself rooting for the “bad guys” hoping they get away with it.



Q: How do you suppose we—as serious Christ-followers—should react to this movie?

A: Well the easy answer is to say that stealing is wrong. But the film portrays our criminals as honorable men trying to help their drug addicted sister, or just because they seem like nice guys. In fact in one scene where a cop is caught stealing money from drug dealers (because his wife lost her job), we feel no sympathy for him.

Most heist films romanticize the crime and the criminals. We need to be careful we don’t continue thinking that when the credits roll.



Q: How can we move from healthy, Bible-based opinions about this movie to actually living out those opinions?

A: One of the biggest things we can take away from Takers is to evaluate our view of money. Jesus recognized the importance of money, the proper use of it and He spoke about money a lot. When the rich young ruler came to Jesus asking what he could do to inherit eternal life, Jesus told him to sell everything and follow Him, and the young man went away sad because he valued money more than anything else (Luke 18:18-23).

Contrast that story with the one He tells is Mark 12 about the widow who gave two very small copper coins. She gave everything she had to God, but the rich person gave a lot more out of their abundance just for the show of it. The lesson that Jesus gives us is that the widow gave more than all of the others because she gave everything to God and trusted Him to supply her need.

Are you trusting God when it comes to money?