Much of this LA-based actioner directed by John Luessenhop carries on like a generic TV crime drama propped up with a bristling score and rapid-fire flash cuts that redirect you from one disjointed situation to the next. That may work on the tube, but Takers has a hard time making it hold up on the big screen.
The film develops some momentum when the living-large quintet of thieves (led by Idris Elba and featuring singer/slapper Chris Brown and interchangeable honkies Hayden Christensen and Paul Walker) undertake an armored-car heist hatched by a former member recently released from jail (rapper Tip "T.I.'' Harris).
The Russian mob and Matt Dillon — pretty much reprising his Crash persona as the grizzled cop trying take down the crew — pop up as plot-point wild cards. It's no Heat, but it does take in a small haul of thrills.
