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Seen on: August 10, 2010

The players: Director: John Luessenhop, Writers: John Luessenhop, Peter Allen, Cast: Idris Elba, Chris Brown, T.I., Paul Walker, Hayden Christensen, Matt Dillon

Facts of interest: None.

The plot: A gang of bank robbers try to pull of a major heist. Meanwhile, two cops try to track them down and arrest them for good.

Our thoughts: It sure took a while for John Luessenhop’s “Takers” to find its way to theaters, but now it’s finally here and that means it’s time to decide whether the wait was actually worth it. Let me put it this way: even though “Takers” is by no means a memorable movie experience, it boasts a cool visual style and enough fast-paced action to keep cinemagoers entertained for an hour and a half.

Chicago – The ensemble cast is decent, the story fits the action/adventure essence of the heist film and one of the hottest music stars of the moment, Tip “T.I.” Harris, has a prominent role. Then why is the new film “Takers” such a seen-it-all-before exercise in action blandness? It feels like a total waste of all those resources.

Rating: 3.0/5.0

Four writers were necessary to pen the screenplay regarding a gang of robbers – including Hayden Christensen, Chris Brown and Paul Walker – who keep a low profile by doing only one prominent and well-planned heist a year. The film takes great pains to show the sophistication of the gang in general, showcasing an unnecessary debate on foreign currency investment and plenty of expensive cigars. What it doesn’t express is why we should care or consider them anti-heroes.

Gordon Jennings (Idris Elba) is the de facto leader of the heist gang, and...

Rating: 2/5

Director: John Luessenhop

Writers: Peter Allen, Gabriel Casseus, John Luessenho, Avery Duff

Cast: Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen, Matt Dillon, Michael Ealy, T.I, Paul Walker

Studio: Screen Gems

“Man, that movie was great! It had everything!” Normally, when you hear this as a moviegoer, your heart should start pumping a little and you should be anxious to get to the theatre so you can fork over your hard-earned money for a movie that generated such a positive 8 word review from your buddy. Sadly, this is not the case for Takers. This movie does have everything. It has everything from every other heist and cop drama movie that you’ve ever seen before. And it’s not because it’s paying homage to the great cop dramas and heist movies of the past. It straight up lifts plot points and screenplay elements out of them, ultimately creating a very lackluster...

irector: John Luessenhop Writer(s): Peter Allen, Gabriel Casseus, John Luessenhop, Avery Duff Starring: Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen, Matt Dillon, Michael Ealy, Idris Elba, T.I., Jay Hernandez, Paul Walker They take; in other words, they are thieves. That’s the premise of this breakneck tale of cops and robbers by fledging director John Luessenhop. Takers is the latest summer blockbuster extravaganza to glorify violence and promote it as a viable lifestyle. It’s a film that looks like a beer commercial, only with cracking gunfire, jerky foot chases, and criminals made out to be the good guys. It’s a not-so-neatly packaged whirlwind fiasco that rips off Heat, Ocean’s Eleven, and yes, even Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. We’ve got our thieves: a band of slick-dressed, smooth-talking badasses that are looking for the next big heist. Luessenhop starts us off with these fellows robbing a bank,...

Chicago – Tip “T.I.” Harris has conquered the charts and the music business as a performer, producer and entrepreneur. He was recently in Chicago at a red carpet premiere for his film “Takers,” on which he serves as executive producer and co-stars with Matt Dillon, Hayden Christensen and Zoe Salanda.

The new ShowPlace Icon theater in Chicago was packed with admirers, who rejoiced and screamed as T.I. walked the red carpet at the shortly before the premiere of Takers, which opens on August 27th. He was joined by two other executive producers, William Packer and Jason Jeter. HollywoodChicago.com was there to interview all three.

T.I., the Executive Producer and Co-Star in ‘Takers’

At the ‘Tip’ of His Career: T.I. at the ‘Takers’ Chicago premiere, August 10th, 2010

Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

HollywoodChicago.com: What kind of acting style do you most relate to – doing a...

Chicago – This 27-image slideshow contains all of the official press images for the highly anticipated “Takers,” starring Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Zoe Saldana, Idris Elba, Jay Hernandez, Michael Ealy, Tip ‘T.I.’ Harris, Chris Brown, and Hayden Christensen. The film was written by Peter Allen & Gabriel Casseus and John Luessenhop & Avery Duff and directed by John Luessenhop. It will be released on August 27th, 2010.

Synopsis: “Takers takes you into the world of a notorious group of criminals (Idris Elba, Paul Walker, T.I., Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen and Michael Ealy) 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 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 (Matt Dillon) who is hell-bent on solving the case.

First up, have a look at the new poster from Sony Pictures' "Takers" directed by John Luessenhop who writes alongside Gabriel Casseus, Peter Allen and Avery Duff. The film stars Idris Elba, Paul Walker, T.I., Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen and Michael Ealy, as 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 (Matt Dillon) who is hell-bent on solving the case.

See the second trailer for Screen Gems' "Takers" starring Matt Dillon, Hayden Christensen, Idris Elba, Paul Walker, Zoe Saldana, Jay Hernandez, Johnathon Schaech and Steve Harris. The crime action/thriller pic is helmed by John Luessenhop from the writing by Peter Allen, Gabriel Casseus, Avery Duff and Leussenhop. See it August 20th. Be sure to check out the official site at http://www.whoarethetakers.com/. "Takers" revolves around a notorious group of criminals (Idris Elba, Paul Walker, T.I., Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen and Michael Ealy) 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 (Matt Dillon) who is hell-bent on solving the case.

Several new posters have surfaced for eagerly anticipated releases. We have the first poster for 20th Century Fox's "Gulliver's Travels" starring Jack Black, Emily Blunt, Jason Segel, Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly, Romany Malco, James Corden and Chris Dowd. Rob Letterman ("Monsters vs. Aliens," "Sharl Tale") directs from the writing by Joe Stillman and Nicholas Stoller based on the Jonathan Swift book. Also from Fox, we have 2 new posters for the Robert Rodriguez-revived "Predators" starring Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Alice Braga Danny Trejo, Laurence Fishburne, Derek Mears, Brian Steele, Walton Goggins and Carey Jones. Nimrod Antal helms from the script by Alex Litvak, Michael Finch, John Thomas and Jim Thomas. Catch it July 9th. Expect some more videos coming soon for this one. Lastly, see the second poster from Screen Gems' "Takers" (a.k.a. "Bone Deep") with Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Jay Hernandez, Tip “T.I.” Harris,...

Takers

Opening Date: August 20

Cast: Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Jay Hernandez, Michael Ealy, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Chris Brown, and Hayden Christensen

Director: John Luessenhop

Writers: Peter Allen & Gabriel Casseus, John Luessenhop & Avery Duff

Official Synopsis: A group of bank robbers find their $20 million plan interrupted by a hard-boiled detective.

Read more on Screen Gems summer and fall preview…...

Screen Gems has released synopses and some first look images from their 2010 films and it’s all after the jump. Some of the new/first look images are from The Roomate (starring Leighton Meester and Minka Kelly), Death at a Funeral (starring Peter Dinklage, Danny Glover, Martin Lawrence, James Marsden, Tracy Morgan, Chris Rock, Zoë Saldaña), and Takers (starring Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Jay Hernandez, and Hayden Christensen).

Also, while they didn’t release any images, they did provide the first synopsis for Burlesque which stars Cher, Christina Aguilera, Eric Dane, Cam Gigandet, Julianne Hough, Peter Gallagher, Alan Cumming, Kristen Bell and Stanley Tucci.

Check out everything after the jump. It’s posted by release date.

Dear John

February 5, 2010 Drama Directed by Lasse Hallström Screenplay by Jamie Linden Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks Produced by Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Ryan Kavanaugh Executive Producers Jeremiah Samuels, Toby Emmerich,...

Starring as a member of skilled bank robbers in action film "Takers", Chris Brown apparently does some of the stunt works himself. His co-star in the upcoming movie, Matt Dillon, unraveled the fact when talking to MTV News in a recent interview. "He's, like, jumping over cars," the older actor gushed. "He did a lot of stunts."

Recalling the filming of some scenes he shared with Brown, Dillon who plays a detective in the movie detailed, "The stuff I did with Chris Brown is chasing him though the streets for eight days straight. It was, like, nonstop." The Academy Award-nominated actor went on to praise the singer, saying "This guy is such a good athlete."

Dillon is not the only "Takers" star who has good words for the 20-year-old. Co-star Michael Ealy, who takes on the role of Brown's older brother, also spoke up about the "I Can Transform Ya" singer.

See the first trailer for Screen Gems' "Takers," starring Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Jay Hernandez, Tip “T.I.” Harris, Special Appearance by Michael Ealy, with Chris Brown, and Hayden Christensen. John Luessenhop directs as well as writing alongside John Luessenhop, Gabriel Casseus, Peter Allen and Avery Duff. Will Packer, Tip “T.I.” Harris and Jason Geter produce. Takers, directed by John Luessenhop, revolves around a notorious group of criminals (Idris Elba, Paul Walker, T.I., Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen and Michael Ealy) 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.

Screen Gems has uncovered the first trailer of crime thriller "Takers". Debuted at Yahoo! Movies, the sneak peek offers the first look into bank robbers played by Idris Elba, Paul Walker, T.I., Chris Brown, Hayden Christensen and Michael Ealy, and the police trying to bring them to justice starred by Matt Dillon and Jay Hernandez.

A notorious group of criminals continue to baffle police when they pull off one perfectly executed bank robbery after another. Leaving no evidence behind and laying low in between heists, they are in and out of the bank like clockwork. But, just as they attempt to pull off one last job where more money is at stake than ever before, they find out a hard-boiled detective who is hell-bent on solving the case interrupts their plan.

Coming from director John Luessenhop, "Takers" was previously entitled "Bone Deep". Its script is written by Luessenhop, Gabriel Casseus,...

The first trailer for the upcoming crime flick Takers has been released online. Directed by John Luessenhop (Lockdown), Takers stars Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Jay Hernandez, Tip "T.I." Harris, Michael Ealy, Chris Brown and Hayden Christensen. The folks over at Coming Soon also have the new poster and you can check it out here. The film opens February 19 and revolves around a group of criminals who find their $20 million plan interrupted by a hard-boiled detective. Luessenhop wrote the film with Peter Allen, Gabriel Casseus and Avery Duff.