"We're takers, gents."
So Takers is apparently my new fandom of one three? 
dirty_diana and dlasta are already on board, guys. Let the peer pressure, and these pretty pictures sway you.
Jake and Jesse Attica. The brothers. <3
Ghost. The recently released con, with a plan. His picture is the biggest because he's the villain (and not at all because I couldn't be bothered to resize it).
AJ. He's got moxy, and a silly hat. He lives at the hotel with Jake, Jesse and Lily.
Here are Gordon and John sitting on a couch together. They're kind of joined at the hip. Also hey, Jesse shares AJ's fashion sense.
Oh look, Gordon touching John. This doesn't happen often. Not at all. *chin hands*
This is John's car. The car is hot. BFFL and I kept wondering why he and Gordon didn't ditch the SUV for John's car, during the finale. Faster, prettier, awesomer. Alas.
So here's the low down on Takers. They're a crew of very smart, very skilled thieves who pull off daring crimes with very big payoffs. They put most of their loot away in investments and savings, with a little (ok a lot) left over for living and charitable donations. They make sure to mix things up, robbing banks, stores, and armored trucks, with plenty of time between takes. Then one day ex-crew member Ghost gets released from prison (early, on good behaviour) and comes to them with a plan. They're suspicious of course, but-- it's a great plan, a great take, and it's Ghost, who they almost want to trust. So they go for it. [For a complete plot summary, head to Wikipedia.]
There's a large cast and I kind of divide them into three groups.
the grownups
Gordon Cozier (Idris Alba) is in charge.
John Rahway (Paul Walker) is a former car thief and the heavy.
Ghost (TI) is the ex-con and ex-crew member who brings them a plan that's too good to resist.
Ghost is none too happy with how things have been going in his absence. He approaches John first, and remarks on how very well he's doing, and all the fine things he's collected. John keeps cool, takes it all in, and then promptly goes to Gordon. It's quickly made clear that Gordon and Ghost started the crew together, and that Gordon and John now run it in an entirely different way. Unlike Ghost, John seems happy to be Gordon's backup and to play the heavy. He even drives him around town. (If Gordon and John are in a car, it's Gordon's car but John is driving). Their relationship is easy, while Gordon and Ghost's is nothing but tension. There's prison dividing them of course, but I don't get the impression it was different before. Like Ghost says, "This is business. I never said we were friends."
Later, with the heist in progress, Ghost anticipates Gordon and John's plans, knows in fact, that John is up on some roof with a high-powered rifle, in case things go badly. Then, when the heist starts to unravel and John steps in, Ghost seems almost impressed as John just walks up to the marks, knocks them the fuck down, and jumps into their armored truck. (A nod, I think, to John's old job). Interestingly, it's Gordon who struggles most over trusting Ghost, and over killing him. Ghost and John and both are pretty cold about it - it's just business, after all - and the ~junior members of the crew aren't divided at they. They're with Gordon, not Ghost. But there's the lure of a great take to contend with.
Ghost says that he and Gordon "found [John] boosting cards down on Sunset", and in my head canon, John's the first one they recruited. It's obvious, in any case, that these three knew each other exceptionally well.
the cops
Jack Welles (Matt Dillon) is the typical hard boiled cop with a failed relationship and a career on rocky ground. You know the type.
Eddie Hatcher (Jay Hernandez) is Jack's partner, a dedicated family man who's gone dirty... to pay his daughter's medical bills.
So the cop subplot. It's kind of a riff on Heat, but not really. Jack Welles is no Vincent Hanna. Jack is a troubled guy. He's recently divorced, obsessed with his job to the point of neglecting his daughter, and only holding it together through will power and god knows what. To a certain degree he's emotionally dependent on his straight-shooting partner, and his partner's seemingly stable family life. Eddie though, has problems of his own. His wife has been laid off. His daughter is sick. It's revealed late in the film that he's dirty. While I appreciate the inclusion of the cop subplot, it sometimes annihilates any sense of momentum that the film manages to build up.
the hotel family
Jake Attica (Michael Ealy) is the explosives expert. Yeah you heard me. Explosives.
Jesse Attica (Chris Brown) is Jake's baby brother and... I guess the wild one? Who apparently knows parkour and rides a slick motorcycle.
A.J. (Hayden Christensen), along with Jake does logistics and makes Gordon's plans happen.
Lily (Zoe Saldana) is Jake's fiance and manages their hotel.
Jake and Lily are engaged and (apparently) own the hotel that they, Jesse and AJ live in. Lily manages at least the club, possibly the whole hotel. (The film is unclear on this point, but I choose to believe that she runs it all, baby). Jake and Lily are partners. They work together, play together, share their hopes and fears and dude, dude. Are just great. With Lily being Ghost's ex, she's the main point of contention between him and Jake. Her relationship with Jake is so movie typical, and yet it's effective, affective, genuine. Her relationship with Ghost is a bit of mystery, since he treats her, well, like garbage (and later he kills her).
Then there's Jesse and AJ. Jesse is Jake's brother, the youngest member of the crew and the most hotheaded. I get the impression that he's newest member of the crew, and his membership came after Ghost's imprisonment. AJ's situation is similar - I'd have to rewatch, but neither of them have the kind of familiarity with Ghost's character that Gordon, John, Lily and Jake show. Jesse's main selling point seems to be that he's fast and fearless. AJ's skillset runs to research, planning and beating people with sticks (yes, really). The two of them live in the hotel with Jake and Lily, AJ seeming to be almost an adopted brother. Certainly Jake and Jesse are most affected by AJ's death. Gordon and John manage to keep things business as usual.
And that first picture up there? Ah yes, the brotherly last stand. They go out together in a blaze of glory because Jake's lost everything (Lily), and Jesse can't stand to be penned in, can't stand going back to jail.
oh yes, Naomi and Gordon
Naomi Cozier (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is Gordon's sister. An addict who's trying, been trying for years to get clean.
She's the only character who isn't directly connected to the central business of the movie, and of the crew. But she's an important supporting character, and one of only four who survive. She spends most of the movie dreaming of her youth in Jamaica, which her baby brother Gordon can't quite remember. Her relationship with Gordon is one of the ways we learn of his sentimentality (Ghost is the other). And she's there with Gordon and John, when they make their buddy-getaway. I strongly suspect that the three head to Jamaica, in hopes of giving Naomi her happy ending.
the ships
because fandom was built on shipping, right?
Jake/Lily: The canon het ship. They're really sweet. I don't know what else to say. They're REALLY SWEET.
Gordon/John: The buddy slash ship. John is easily the coldest character of the movie - far surpassing Ghost, who's driven by revenge - but Gordon never stops being his priority. And for his part, Gordon relies on and absolutely trusts John. Like Lily and Jake, they're partners.
Not convinced? Watch the trailer. Fandoms have been built on so. much. less. Oh, and here's a making of, if you're interested in what the cast and crew think.
Alternate: http://schmevil.dreamwidth.org/282451.html.
comments
dirty_diana and dlasta are already on board, guys. Let the peer pressure, and these pretty pictures sway you.
Jake and Jesse Attica. The brothers. <3
Ghost. The recently released con, with a plan. His picture is the biggest because he's the villain (and not at all because I couldn't be bothered to resize it).
AJ. He's got moxy, and a silly hat. He lives at the hotel with Jake, Jesse and Lily.
Here are Gordon and John sitting on a couch together. They're kind of joined at the hip. Also hey, Jesse shares AJ's fashion sense.
Oh look, Gordon touching John. This doesn't happen often. Not at all. *chin hands*
This is John's car. The car is hot. BFFL and I kept wondering why he and Gordon didn't ditch the SUV for John's car, during the finale. Faster, prettier, awesomer. Alas.
So here's the low down on Takers. They're a crew of very smart, very skilled thieves who pull off daring crimes with very big payoffs. They put most of their loot away in investments and savings, with a little (ok a lot) left over for living and charitable donations. They make sure to mix things up, robbing banks, stores, and armored trucks, with plenty of time between takes. Then one day ex-crew member Ghost gets released from prison (early, on good behaviour) and comes to them with a plan. They're suspicious of course, but-- it's a great plan, a great take, and it's Ghost, who they almost want to trust. So they go for it. [For a complete plot summary, head to Wikipedia.]
There's a large cast and I kind of divide them into three groups.
the grownups
Gordon Cozier (Idris Alba) is in charge.
John Rahway (Paul Walker) is a former car thief and the heavy.
Ghost (TI) is the ex-con and ex-crew member who brings them a plan that's too good to resist.
Ghost is none too happy with how things have been going in his absence. He approaches John first, and remarks on how very well he's doing, and all the fine things he's collected. John keeps cool, takes it all in, and then promptly goes to Gordon. It's quickly made clear that Gordon and Ghost started the crew together, and that Gordon and John now run it in an entirely different way. Unlike Ghost, John seems happy to be Gordon's backup and to play the heavy. He even drives him around town. (If Gordon and John are in a car, it's Gordon's car but John is driving). Their relationship is easy, while Gordon and Ghost's is nothing but tension. There's prison dividing them of course, but I don't get the impression it was different before. Like Ghost says, "This is business. I never said we were friends."
Later, with the heist in progress, Ghost anticipates Gordon and John's plans, knows in fact, that John is up on some roof with a high-powered rifle, in case things go badly. Then, when the heist starts to unravel and John steps in, Ghost seems almost impressed as John just walks up to the marks, knocks them the fuck down, and jumps into their armored truck. (A nod, I think, to John's old job). Interestingly, it's Gordon who struggles most over trusting Ghost, and over killing him. Ghost and John and both are pretty cold about it - it's just business, after all - and the ~junior members of the crew aren't divided at they. They're with Gordon, not Ghost. But there's the lure of a great take to contend with.
Ghost says that he and Gordon "found [John] boosting cards down on Sunset", and in my head canon, John's the first one they recruited. It's obvious, in any case, that these three knew each other exceptionally well.
the cops
Jack Welles (Matt Dillon) is the typical hard boiled cop with a failed relationship and a career on rocky ground. You know the type.
Eddie Hatcher (Jay Hernandez) is Jack's partner, a dedicated family man who's gone dirty... to pay his daughter's medical bills.
So the cop subplot. It's kind of a riff on Heat, but not really. Jack Welles is no Vincent Hanna. Jack is a troubled guy. He's recently divorced, obsessed with his job to the point of neglecting his daughter, and only holding it together through will power and god knows what. To a certain degree he's emotionally dependent on his straight-shooting partner, and his partner's seemingly stable family life. Eddie though, has problems of his own. His wife has been laid off. His daughter is sick. It's revealed late in the film that he's dirty. While I appreciate the inclusion of the cop subplot, it sometimes annihilates any sense of momentum that the film manages to build up.
the hotel family
Jake Attica (Michael Ealy) is the explosives expert. Yeah you heard me. Explosives.
Jesse Attica (Chris Brown) is Jake's baby brother and... I guess the wild one? Who apparently knows parkour and rides a slick motorcycle.
A.J. (Hayden Christensen), along with Jake does logistics and makes Gordon's plans happen.
Lily (Zoe Saldana) is Jake's fiance and manages their hotel.
Jake and Lily are engaged and (apparently) own the hotel that they, Jesse and AJ live in. Lily manages at least the club, possibly the whole hotel. (The film is unclear on this point, but I choose to believe that she runs it all, baby). Jake and Lily are partners. They work together, play together, share their hopes and fears and dude, dude. Are just great. With Lily being Ghost's ex, she's the main point of contention between him and Jake. Her relationship with Jake is so movie typical, and yet it's effective, affective, genuine. Her relationship with Ghost is a bit of mystery, since he treats her, well, like garbage (and later he kills her).
Then there's Jesse and AJ. Jesse is Jake's brother, the youngest member of the crew and the most hotheaded. I get the impression that he's newest member of the crew, and his membership came after Ghost's imprisonment. AJ's situation is similar - I'd have to rewatch, but neither of them have the kind of familiarity with Ghost's character that Gordon, John, Lily and Jake show. Jesse's main selling point seems to be that he's fast and fearless. AJ's skillset runs to research, planning and beating people with sticks (yes, really). The two of them live in the hotel with Jake and Lily, AJ seeming to be almost an adopted brother. Certainly Jake and Jesse are most affected by AJ's death. Gordon and John manage to keep things business as usual.
And that first picture up there? Ah yes, the brotherly last stand. They go out together in a blaze of glory because Jake's lost everything (Lily), and Jesse can't stand to be penned in, can't stand going back to jail.
oh yes, Naomi and Gordon
Naomi Cozier (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is Gordon's sister. An addict who's trying, been trying for years to get clean.
She's the only character who isn't directly connected to the central business of the movie, and of the crew. But she's an important supporting character, and one of only four who survive. She spends most of the movie dreaming of her youth in Jamaica, which her baby brother Gordon can't quite remember. Her relationship with Gordon is one of the ways we learn of his sentimentality (Ghost is the other). And she's there with Gordon and John, when they make their buddy-getaway. I strongly suspect that the three head to Jamaica, in hopes of giving Naomi her happy ending.
the ships
because fandom was built on shipping, right?
Jake/Lily: The canon het ship. They're really sweet. I don't know what else to say. They're REALLY SWEET.
Gordon/John: The buddy slash ship. John is easily the coldest character of the movie - far surpassing Ghost, who's driven by revenge - but Gordon never stops being his priority. And for his part, Gordon relies on and absolutely trusts John. Like Lily and Jake, they're partners.
Not convinced? Watch the trailer. Fandoms have been built on so. much. less. Oh, and here's a making of, if you're interested in what the cast and crew think.
Alternate: http://schmevil.dreamwidth.org/282451.html.
comments