The Take (2016)

A young pickpocket and an unruly CIA agent team up on an anti-terrorist mission in France.

Director:

James Watkins

Writers:

Andrew Baldwin, James Watkins

Stars:

Idris Elba, Richard Madden, Charlotte Le Bon

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Idris Elba	...	Sean Briar
Richard Madden	...	Michael Mason
Charlotte Le Bon	...	Zoe
Kelly Reilly	...	Karen Dacre
José Garcia	...	Victor Gamieux
Thierry Godard	...	Rafi Bertrand
Vincent Londez	...	Yannick Bertrand
Arieh Worthalter	...	Jean
Mohamed Makhtoumi	...	Christophe
Théo Costa-Marini	...	Xavier (as Théo Costa Marini)
Jérôme Gaspard	...	Yves
Ismaël Sy Savané	...	Serge (as Ismael Sy Savane)
James Stewart	...	Henri
James Cox	...	Pierre
James Harris	...	Marcel

Storyline

Michael Mason, a pickpocket living in Paris, steals a bag with a teddy bear in it. Not realizing the toy contains a timed bomb, he tosses it aside on a busy street. A few seconds later it explodes, killing four people. CCTV footage reveals Mason's face and the French police tag him as a terrorist threat. The explosion, although botched, was set up by a select group of the French Interior Ministry as a decoy so they can make a half billion dollar digital transfer from a bank (closed on French National Day) -- hence the title Bastille Day. In a separate CIA investigation the unruly agent Sean Briar discovers the real story behind Mason's "terrorist attack". The two men, on different sides of the law, collaborate to bring the corrupt members of the Ministry down.

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Plot Keywords:

pickpocket | cia | bomb | swat team | riot | 

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Taglines:

With law comes disorder.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and some nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

UK France USA Luxembourg Germany

Language:

English French

Release Date:

18 November 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Take

Filming Locations:

Paris, Île-de-France, France

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$41,546, 20 November 2016

Gross USA:

$50,269

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,857,808

Company Credits

Production Co:

StudioCanal, Anton, Amazon Prime Video

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A more interesting aspect of the training for Richard Madden was learning how to pickpocket. Working with a consultant named, appropriately, "Keith the Thief", Madden learned sleight of hands tricks and distraction techniques. Madden said: "We wanted some of the maneuvers he pulls to be a bit flamboyant so that it reflects Michael's cockiness at his own ability. James was very keen to make sure that that the stealing didn't appear to be like magic, but that it seemed realistic. So if anyone watching the film on DVD pauses and watches it in slow-motion to check it's really me doing it, I did actually do it!".

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Goofs

When the Police are entering the bank, between the main hall and the control room. As they walk behind the pillar, you can see the edit between shots. (The camera jumps slightly.)

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Quotes

[last lines]
Michael Mason: So where do I go from here? I didn't even get the money. Are the CIA gonna reimburse me?
Sean Briar: Guess you gotta get a job.
Michael Mason: A job? The CIA for anything going?
Sean Briar: Yeah, you can clean the cars.
Michael Mason: Cleaning like swept for bombs?
Sean Briar: No, buddy. Soap and water.
Michael Mason: What about something in surveillance?
Sean Briar: I don't think so.
Michael Mason: The mailroom?
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in The Graham Norton Show: Dame Joan Collins/Richard Madden/Lily James/Paul Hollywood/DNCE (2016)

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Soundtracks

Fade Out Lines
Written by Phoebe Killdeer and Craig Walker
Arranged by Phoebe Killdeer and Cédric Leroux, and produced by Tristan Casara
Performed by The Avener (Tristan Casara) & Phoebe Killdeer
© Universal Publishing
(p) 2013 96 Musique / Kwaidan Records
Courtesy of Universal Music Vision

User Reviews

A film which the French police will not necessarily appreciate

First, this film looks like an Europacorp crap factory production. I would have thought of Pierre Morel or Louis Leterrier as directors. Yes it pretty looks like a TAKEN or other trash from Besson's crap factory, all those action flicks with American actors and taking place in Paris. But let's be fair, that remains a B movie blown up to a grade A one. I loved the rogue cops scheme, it had the potential to be a great film from this, only from this. But the rest of it is forgettable, the acting and directing are awful. AWFUL. The escape sequence from the police truck is pretty close to a sequence, also an escape from a police truck, in HANNIBAL series. And the heist looks like the one in DIE HARD 3..

it could have been better, and I even think that Besson's Europacorp could have been better. A better garbage product. But it remains a corny and appreciable time waster.