‘Takers’

In great heist movies, the characters are as complex -- and as compelling -- as the caper.

In good heist movies, it's usually one out of two.

But "Takers" goes 0-for-2.

A few minor attributes -- an attractive cast, a few rock-'em, sock-'em action scenes -- provide sporadic diversion.

Otherwise, it's the usual cops-and-robbers claptrap, with a pair of troubled good-guy cops providing partial counterbalance to the smooth criminals' lifestyles of the rich and lawless.

We first meet "Takers' " title quintet at a Los Angeles bank robbery, which they execute with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of panache.

Crisp Britisher Gordon (Idris Elba) plays leader of the pack, accompanied by A.J. (Hayden Christensen), John (Paul Walker) and brothers Jake and Jesse (Michael Ealy, Chris Brown).

From the rapid-fire robbery itself to their high-flying getaway, these guys seem to have everything covered.

But a pair of potentially confounding complications loom on their seemingly unclouded horizon.

Complication No. 1: a dogged cop (Matt Dillon) obsessing over the cocky bank robbers, accompanied by his slightly reluctant younger partner (Jay Hernandez), who's got other things -- especially a seriously ill son -- on his mind. (Dillon's detective has personal problems, too, including a crumbling marriage, but he doesn't let anything impede his devotion to duty; even when his young daughter's in the car, he doesn't hesitate to chase the bad guys at high speed.)

Complication No. 2, however, hits a bit closer to home. It's the aptly named Ghost (rapper Tip "T.I." Harris, also one of "Takers' " producers), a former posse member who's just finished a prison term and wants to rejoin his former buddies. Besides, Ghost's got something to bring to the table: a proposed armored-car heist that could mean a $20 million-plus payday.

As our pals from "Ocean's Eleven" used to say, you're either in or you're out. And these "Takers" are definitely in.

Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, they'll figure out -- eventually. By then, however, it might be too late.

And you might not care anyway, because "Takers" unrolls in such routine fashion.

It looks flashy enough, thanks to director John Luessenhop 's run-and-gun style, which amps up the breakneck pacing.

That's probably just as well, considering the holes the script (credited to Luessenhop, Peter Allen, Gabriel Casseus and Avery Duff) leaves gaping.

For starters, it might be interesting to know how these particular partners in crime got together, but "Takers" seems utterly uninterested in anything but the sketchiest, most banal background details. Sample simplistic plot complication: Gordon's drug-addict sister (a too-good-for-this-movie Marianne Jean-Baptiste), trying to clean up her act. And let's not overlook Ghost's resentful reaction to the news that his old squeeze ("Avatar's" Zoe Saldana, reduced to a thankless plot device) is now engaged to Jake.

The movie also shortchanges audiences when it comes to the details of the team's intricate heists; we never learn how the guys come up with most of their equipment and their disguises. Instead, they show up and we're expected to go along for the ride.

A few of those rides have the potential to get your blood pumping. Alas, director Luessenhop ("Lockdown") is a devoted disciple of the Cuisinart approach to action staging. You know the drill: slice and dice, then toss, leaving it to us to piece things together in our minds, because the director's too busy playing plays-with-camera to bother creating a coherent sequence of events. It gets especially frustrating in "Takers," because this technique sabotages (among other things) a potentially breathless chase sequence that makes good use of downtown L.A. locations. (Or it would, if you could figure out where the chase is leading.)

As for the movie's cast members, some of them are better than others at injecting a sense of tension and urgency into the script's plodding dialogue.

Elba, for example, brings a touch of silky menace to his customary intensity, while Dillon adds a jaded, world-weary edge to his hard-charging cop.

Even when they're firing on all cylinders, however, it's nothing we haven't seen before -- and done better. (Don't believe me? Check out today's "Deja View" for some classic capers.)

In short, "Takers" is a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. Take my advice -- and leave it alone.

Contact movie critic Carol Cling at ccling@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272.