Available now in theaters and on demand from Brainstorm Media
A sniper looking to retire finds himself in a penthouse suit where his last job is not going as expected.
Written by Joshua Todd James and directed by Nick McKinless, Take Cover is decent Scott Adkins fare, an action film with plenty of bullets and hand to hand combat, made to showcase what the actor can do and going for it while it’s at it. The story here is decent enough while being made to the action sequences and the stunts. There is a bit of character development but not a ton and the main villain isn’t seen much for most of the movie which oddly all works here because that is basically what the audience comes here for. The film serves the audience with an action story, and it works. Is it deep? Not really. Does it matter here? Absolutely not.
The cast here is composed of mainly two better known actors, top-billed Scott Adkins and Alice Eve. Of course, both of them do decently well with Adkins doing his thing as expected, giving decent acting and strong fighting skills and gun handling. Eve doesn’t get to act as much and she doesn’t get much action either, but her work, well, works here. Joining them are Jack Parr, Madalina Bellariu Ion, and Alba De Torrebruna who all gives good performances in their supporting roles. Parr does get a bit more set up than the ladies here, but all three give their characters personality (like them or not) and reasons to want to fight when the bullets start flying.
Something this film does really well is use that hotel penthouse to keep the majority of the action contained. It makes use of the design of the room (likely designed for the film) and placement of windows, furniture, and more as ways to protect the characters and sometimes get in their way. There is something here that just works with the location, and it becomes an extra character. The film taking place mostly in that one space, it works. The cinematography by Rick Joaquim (and team) works with the location and the windows (as well as a few reflective surfaces) quite well, making the most of everything. This is solid action cinematography. Of course, along with the cinematography comes the editing which here came to Liviu Jipescu who does great work with the action scenes, helping bring them together and giving them life. The work from the cinematographer and editor here help make the film as entertaining as it is.
Take Cover is one of those action films that are easy to ignore, the poster does it no favors being so generic, but fans of action should love this one and those who like to see a (mostly) one location film should enjoy it as well. This is one of those non-stop action films once things get going and it’s fun while it happens. The bullets and fists fly and almost everyone is hit in one way or another at one point or another, making it a seriously violent film that doesn’t hold back.