The Take Blu-ray Review

I’m a huge fan of Idris Elba and somehow The Take went completely under my radar. For some, you may have managed to hear about it but under a different title… The Take is the movie formerly known as Bastille Day. I’m not too sure why they changed it… I’m guessing it has something to do with Americans being like “Dafuq Bastille Day?” but anyways, this is just the latest name change victim within Hollywood, joining the club with films like Edge of Tomorrow (now known as Live. Die. Repeat. for some godforsaken reason).

The short version of the plot of The Take is this: a CIA agent in Paris that’s been brought in to help stop a group of terrorists from setting off a bomb somewhere in the city.

The slightly longer version is that an adept pickpocket, as played by Robb Stark, steals a bag that contains a bomb. He inadvertently places it in a place that ends up getting people seriously hurt. Not realizing exactly what happened, he is hunted by the authorities who hope to bring him in and stop any further violence. The authorities soon realize that he’s not directly involved in the crime but utilize his skills to find those responsible and save the city from a devastating attack that’s set to happen on Bastille Day, which for you North Americans, is the French equivalent to Independence Day.

The Take is Luther in the CIA trying to stop a bomb threat instead of solving murders. More accurately a mix of Luther and Jack Reacher. I thought there would be a bit more action in the film but the main focus here is more on the chaos and restlessness growing within the city as the members of the terrorist organization manipulate the situations to their advantage.

Honestly I think the whole Bastille Day thing might’ve really turned people off. North Americans aren’t big into going to the theatre to watching an action film with a ton of subtitles and The Take definitely has its share throughout the film. That being said, it’s not a bad film at all. It’s a little dry at times but the story is interesting and compelling.

This feels more like a spinoff of a TV show than a standalone movie though. MI-6 (aka Spooks), 24 and other action TV shows got movies after the fact and The Take feels like it’s the film for the beloved characters you watched for several seasons and couldn’t wait to see reunited again… except that you don’t know any of the characters because they haven’t previously existed in any medium and you don’t have an attachment formed to any of them, which is really my biggest problem with the film at the end of the day. You just don’t care about any of the characters and there’s not really enough backstory to make you feel invested.

It’s not a bad film but it’s not great either.

The Take Blu-ray Special Features:

• The Making of The Take

Verdict:
Check it out! I have a limited amount of space on my movie shelf these days and I wouldn’t keep a physical copy of the film but a digital copy either as a buy or rental is worth enjoying on an evening after work.

As mentioned, im a fan of Idris Elba so there’s not a lot with him that I wouldn’t recommend (IT’S GHOST RIDER 2, GUYS. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THAT FILM) but I think The Take is an interesting look at how terrorism comes in a lot of different forms and how easy it is to manipulate the world with social media and a few corrupt government members. Maybe a tad too on the nose…