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"This film is skewed towards an urban audience but it doesn't look like a typical urban film, if there's such a thing. It tries to be a little more sophisticated. It has all this beautiful cinematography but it also has quite a complex story going on," Idris adds. T.I., also one of the film's producers, agrees, adding that three-dimensional characters were vital. "[With] each and every character, I think it was our intention to show that they are not just bank robbers. Of course, when we turn on the news we see, 'okay two, three guys robbed a bank; but these guys, they have family too, they're somebody's son, somebody's father, they have things in their life that led them to pull off whatever they tried to pull off." He stresses, "And I feel like for us to appropriately tell a story and make you care about these people, we had to give you some element of their lives."
Idris's character, Gordon, is the thinker. His strategic intellect is complemented by Michael Ealy's role as Jake, who owns a lavish bar/club and courts Ghost's ex-girl played by Zoe Saldana. Together they take into account the logistics of business. It is Gordon and Jake whom Ghost has to go through for the heist to be properly executed. Motives are unknown. Animosity lurks. Adversity is two-sided. Gordon's issues travel beyond forbidden thoughts of being caught; it releases in an intimate scene with his sister. T.I as Ghost is mysterious; fresh out of jail, he's eager to get in contact with his crew and return to action. Ghost's speech is slow and each move interprets a calculated step. Are you able to take his presence and words at face value, or is there something much deeper lurking? "I tried to make sure that there was enough back-story given; that you know that this guy remained loyal to his comrades even in times of adversity when he could have easily [given] the whole crew up. I tried to add elements in there that made him, even if not a likeable character, an understandable character," T.I shares.
"When Ghost [is released from jail], his intentions are a little ambiguous because really this is his crew, clearly he's a little bitter, and I think its understandable; but [he offers] the deal of a lifetime," Will explains. T.I., chimes in, " I personally think that Ghost has the purest of intentions until somewhere down the line he [feels] that he's getting the short end of the stick." Matt Dillon's character is so heavy into solving these sporadic heist cases that it costs him his family as Dillon's partner, Jay Hernandez, deals with a secret complication regarding the job and his family. So, who are the real bad guys? "Our antagonists are [actually] the cops," Will says. "Even though Matt Dillon and Jay Hernandez are on the right side of the law, the way that the film is structured these guys [T.I. and crew] are like anti-heroes." Idris says, "I want people to hold on to their seats and get really engaged with the characters. Hopefully, we not only gave the audience something spectacular to look at; but we want them to feel. So the characters have a storyline that takes you in different directions."
Will agrees. "People don't really know what TAKERS will or will not do," he states. "It's been a big summer with the A-Team, Expendables, and Inception; and then you got TAKERS and it's an action movie, but yet, it's kind of cool and hip; the cast is a lot different than any other cast that's been out this summer." The energy of TAKERS never settles; from the wild police chases, to the mob-like brutishness, it's hard to really know who's taking who when "all business and never personal" is the mantra. Enjoy the ride.  |
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