I realize that it's unfair to keep referring to Idris Elba as Stringer, since the man does have a career outside The Wire, and I am quite antsy to see Luther as soon as it makes it over to this side of the pond. But Takers really does look like an alternate universe in which Stringer Bell gets a private jet, gets a police nemesis much less interesting than Jimmy McNulty in the form of Matt Dillon, and gets taken down by trusting T.I. I'm not sure which is more embarrassing: betrayal by T.I. or corrupt local politicians. Not sure this incoherent mess (it's not always clear who is talking in the dialogue) is going to be worth watching to find out:
Also, something does feel slightly off in the movie's valorization of crassly materialistic, violent criminals. There's not a lot of charm written into here to take the edge off, no Danny Ocean panache and regret, no Andy Garcia set up as a guy worth robbing just because he's such an abiding jerk, and no particularly compelling-looking Guy Who Tries to Do the Right Thing. It's an interesting approach, cops and robbers facing off just because that's what cops and robbers do. I'm not sure it'll end up being compelling, or just weary-feeling.