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Nov 17, 2016 By Stephen Danay Web Exclusive

Michael Mason, an American pickpocket living in Paris, finds himself on the run after a bag he steals and abandons in a crowded square turns out to be a terrorist bomb. After running afoul of CIA operative Sean Briar, the pair find themselves attempting to thwart a plot to bring the city to its knees.

Following rumors on the Spectre press tour that Daniel Craig might be hanging up his license to kill, the internet was quick to voice opinions regarding his successor. The most popular choice: Wire alum/Luther star/part-time DJ/full-time sex symbol Idris Elba. It would be easy to see Bastille Day – retitled The Take for American audiences in the apparent hope that they’ll forget the name entirely rather than be confused by it – as Elba’s James Bond audition tape.

As Briar, he’s somewhere between Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer; a single-minded murder machine who never met a problem some light torture or a shoot-out couldn’t solve, lacking even the stock tortured backstory of his forebears. It’s a testament to Elba’s skills – specifically his effortless combination of intelligence, menace and charm – that he is able to remain compelling while playing such a paper-thin character. Less impressive is his co-star, Richard Madden, best known as Robb Stark on Game of Thrones. Struggling mightily with a flat American accent, Madden is also saddled with his own generic archetype, the slick conman with the bruised heart of gold. Mason is a bit of a wet blanket all around, existing mostly to further the plot and feel guilty and conflicted regarding his unwitting role in the bombing. The only time the character shows any hint of life is in the few scenes where he and Briar begin to develop something resembling a mismatched buddy cop vibe.

There’s actually quite a bit of plot packed into The Take and its 90-minute run time. There’s CIA double-dealing, a crooked French SWAT team, and hippie anarchists, all set against the backdrop of ripped-from-the-headlines tension between Muslim immigrants and French right-wing nationalist sentiment. The film flirts with serious issues of race and politics, but mostly comes off like a Bourne movie filtered through the lens of Luc Besson’s EuropaCorp action aesthetic. It doesn’t break any new ground, but the plot is fleet enough and there are several action scenes that are genuinely impressive, including a foot chase over the roofs of Paris and a five-way fight in the back of a speeding, and eventually crashing, van. Ultimately, The Take makes a better case for itself as an extended TV pilot than as a film. It’s got a charismatic lead, solid action and a dynamic that has plenty of room to grow. It just never quite lives up to its potential.

www.thetakemovie.com

Author rating: 5.5/10