Takers

Any film that throws together Chris Brown, Tip Harris (T.I.), Paul Walker, and Hayden Christensen has got to suck ass was my thought process. This film brought together a lot of up and comers and sort-of stars in a huge ensemble where you feel like you know everyone from other movies: Michael Ealy, Matt Dillon, Idris Elba, Jay Hernandez (Hostel dude), and underused and over-clothed Zoe Saldana round it out. Walker, Hayden, Chris Brown, Elba, and Ealy are a group of super thieves and best buddies. They are "takers" who live a sweet life of little responsibility and lots of disposable income. T.I. gets out of jail and ran with the crew in '04, but got caught and shot, so he's fresh out of prison and looking to re-join. He has a great heist of two cash trucks and "as much money as we can carry". They only get 5 days to plan and execute this great heist. Plot thickens as T.I. gets the plans from Russians he met in the joint and is going to give 1/2 million to after the heist. It's highly stylized, but very decent actually. I didn't expect much, but compare it to a poor, young man's HEAT. I'm not saying it's anywhere near equal, but it's a pretty cool heist movie, that moves along very well. There's some pretty cool twists and turns, and it puts some dicks in the dirt, which wins points in my eyes. It's pretty badass for a PG-13 film.

Bottom Line: 6.8 out of 10. Better than what I expected and certainly worth a watch while it's on Starz, or even a rental.