John Leguizamo practically redeems himself for films like Spawn and The Pest by turning in an all-around believable performance as Felix de la Peña, a family man living in Boyle Heights, L.A. with his wife Marina (Rosie Perez) and his two kids.  Felix works for an armored car company and it’s just another Friday for him… but all that changes when his partner Marco (Yul Vazquez) walks into a restaurant to grab some lunch and trouble appears in the passenger seat - trouble in the form of a big, big black guy named Adell (Tyrese Gibson).

Turns out Adell has been monitoring Felix for some time: he knows his schedule, he knows where he lives, and he knows the names of his wife and children and, by threatening to take away his family, Felix unwillingly agrees to drive Adell and his henchmen back to base… where they proceed to loot the place and kill everyone off.

They even shoot Felix in the head.  He survives - but his personality is no longer the same. 

Naturally, when the police (led by Bobby Cannavale) begin to investigate, they suspect Felix of carrying out the operation (because the brain of a heist will often shoot himself - in the brain - to point the finger of guilt somewhere else).  But all Felix wants is to find the men that did this.

Those of you expecting an action-packed thrill ride are going to be disappointed.  If you’re thinking this is going to be in the vain of Memento or Regarding Henry, you’re still wrong.  Instead, The Take (2007) is a low-budget but nevertheless well made feature (at times) about one man’s struggle to take back his pride that should keep you entertained.

At least I think that’s what it was about… maybe I’m thinking of Phantom Of The Paradise again.  Was there singing in this one?

Presentation
The Take (2007) is a very grainy film (deliberate on the filmmakers’ part to add “realism”) and was filmed entirely with handheld cameras, so it’s pretty shaky most of the time (again: realism - although they’re lightweight enough that you don’t have to pack everything up and face paying a huge fine when the cops show up asking for your filming permits - with these, you can just run instead!).  The movie is presented in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio (although the IMDb lists this movie as having been released in a 2.35:1 ratio theatrically) and contains a 5.1 English track as well as a Spanish 2.0 Surround track.  English and Spanish subtitles are also provided.

Extras
Audio Commentary with director Brad Furman and cinematographer Lukas Ettlin.  The Commentary probably deserves a listen (particularly when the filmmakers point out how much Hollywood has gone downhill) but is at times difficult to listen to considering it is loaded with monotone voices, long, drawn-out pauses, and plenty of “Uhhs” and “Umms” to boot.  Next up are four (rather uninteresting) Deleted Scenes (3:25), and a Featurette: A Look Behind-The-Scenes Of The Take (18:15) in which we get to see how truly white all of the filmmakers really are (so if anyone out there is upset over the casting of Colombians, Ricans and/or Cubans as Mexicans, blame these gringos).

Several Trailers/Promos also accompany the disc (and, naturally, the Preview for The Take is not one of them): the standard Blu-ray Promo; Dirty (2005), the totally fictitious story of hoods that turned into corrupt cops; Redbelt; Cleaner; Untraceable; Hero Wanted; Diamond Dogs; The Tattooist; Impulse (which could very well be called “Silk Stalkings: The Movie”); Damages Season One; Rescue Me Seasons 1-4; Pistol Whipped; The Contractor; Edison Force; and, wait for it… Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (this ultra-campy trailer must be seen to be believed).

The Bottom Line
The Take (2007) isn’t a bad movie… in fact, it’s very watchable and Leguizamo is a much better actor than most people (including myself) give him credit for.  Definitely worth a watch.