Notable Cast: Scott Adkins, Alice Eve, Jack Parr, Billy
Clements, Mădălina Bellariu Ion, Renars Latkovskis, Nik Coleman, Alba De
Torrebruna
Take Cover is simple, which I appreciate
wholeheartedly. While theatrical action films continue to try to bring flocks
of people to the theater with spectacle, the Scott Adkins vehicle continues to
run on simple ideas, strong action execution, and just enough thoughtful drama
to build a foundation. That's it. That's all.
Take Cover is just that. Less is more.
The concept? Two mercenaries, a sniper (Adkins) and his
spotter (Parr), are trapped in a massive hotel room by another sniper and a
handful of baddies waiting to crush them if they try to leave. The simplicity
breeds creativity, and Take Cover can take advantage of it. Yes, the
film does start outside the room, showcasing a job that goes sideways, the
chemistry between the two men as partners, and their abilities as fighters,
shooters, and escape artists, but really, it's all set up to The Room. Once it
gets there, despite a few convenient flaws of logic in the script to keep them
there, the film can start boiling tension and working its fun dynamics as an
action flick.
Director Nick McKinless, a stuntman prior by trade, knows
how to keep the film moving - despite its limited set usage and smaller cast
size, and that's the biggest compliment to give Take Cover. It never
overstays its welcome, and it uses the room in some fun ways - particularly
with its seemingly bulletproof furniture and an elevator begging for
usage. This allows the action to flow freely in its narrative, allowing Adkins
to do his high-kicking badassery as fans have come to expect, and blends
gunplay with fist-to-feet fury in ways that lift the straight-to-VOD film above
its peers.
Take Cover has to cut a few corners in painting its
characters in more generic ways, particularly its side characters, which tends
to be the biggest obstacle it faces. Its female characters, outside of a
few fun ideas like one of the masseuses being a palm reader or the language
barrier for the other, are fairly stock. Like many Adkins films, he's there to
be a PROTECTOR, and he sticks to that character beat with relative
steadfastness, despite the film giving him a decently executed 'hitman with a
heart' trope backstory. Naturally, Adkins ends up being the best actor in the
movie and carries so much of the emotional pathos throughout, even if his
character is hardly the most original take.
Truthfully, Parr's secondary lead, Ken, is the biggest
hurdle throughout the film. Despite the initial chemistry between the two
leads, his brand of vulgar goofball, meant to be in stark contrast to Adkins'
straight-laced do-gooder, grates on the nerves after a while. It's not that
those characters don't exist in real life - they most certainly do, and I have
friends that definitely exist in that realm - but it's only so many dick jokes
that a film can use for comedic relief before it becomes tiresome. Parr gets a
couple of fun action beats and executes what he is being asked to do
in the role well, but he's more there to compliment Adkins than he is to be a
true secondary lead. That explains his lack of poster presence even when Alice
Eve gets on there, and she’s mostly a voice in the film (albeit a solid
addition to the film.)
Still, for fans of low-budget action cinema, you can't go
wrong with Take Cover. Despite its limitations in sets, characters, and
sometimes logic in its script (just wait to see the actual escape route out of
the hotel room at the end), Take Cover dodges a ton of bullets that
could have crippled the film from reaching its goals. It’s highly entertaining,
moves like lightning, and never loses sight that the action and narrative must
serve its concept. It’s the kind of VOD actioner I love watching on a late
Friday night.
When’s Nick McKinless making his next Adkins action fest?
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