Take Cover – A Serviceable DTV Actioner

In an otherwise quiet moment in DTV action cinema, Scott Adkins and co. kick through the door with Take Cover, a bottle episode of a film which traps its star in a penthouse and poses the question? How would Scott Adkins get out of this? The answer, through a plethora of kicks as it sees Adkins and Jack Parr face-off against sniper fire and a horde of mercenaries in a film which appears more concerned with the philosophical pondering of its lead, rather than delivering more stellar action. The result, although fun, is ultimately let down by a lackluster script and poor pacing that only highlights issues for which audiences may have otherwise been willing to overlook while hiding behind the its strong action and style.

Take Cover is centered around Sam (Scott Adkins), a burnt-out sniper disillusioned from the grandeurs of righteousness and the riches of the job. Following a botched hit, he decides to come back for one final job, much to the chagrin of his spotter Ken (Parr), a vulgar playboy discontent with Sam and fearful of what may come. Their banter dominates the film early on until bullets start to fly. From there, Sam and Ken are put to the test as they fight against the odds and plot their escape a seemingly inescapable situation. Where the film truly shines is through its action as the filmmakers give Adkins the chance to shine as he dispatches waves of enemies as sniper fire whizzes overhead. A joy to watch, excellent camerawork keeps up with the intensity throughout. The fight choreography, while nothing new, utilizes the film’s setting and budget to create some blistering action sequences, combining marital arts and gunplay. First time director Nick McKinless proves economical in his direction, turning up the style at times to amplify the martial arts mayhem on screen.

That being said, what hold the film back is its script and pacing. Getting off to a strong start, the film then squanders that start as it loses sight of what it is. Now, this would not be as much of a concern had it made more of an effort during those moments. Instead, the story plays out like countless other DTV offerings that simply fail to deliver enough in between the action. The philosophical pondering of Adkin’s Sam is paired with an insightful escort named Mona (Madalina Bellariu Ion) who casts doubt upon Sam’s life as a soldier and what it truly meant. Doomed to his station in life, a killer is a killer no matter how one tries to justify it. The film establishes both as more sympathetic characters amidst the gunfire and vulgarity; however, this comes at a cost of exciting action while the pacing suffers as the film slowly crawls from one action sequence to the next before coming on near the end. Meanwhile, the film is also dampened by dated dialogue that is not only unnecessarily vulgar and grating but also prevents audiences from engaging with the film’s loftier themes and characterization.

As mentioned, McKinless’ directorial debut is an impressive effort that does the most with its circumstances. Though the action may be few and far between, it is entertaining to watch whenever it does take place. The film shines when Adkins is setting people on fire, throwing spinning roundhouse kicks, and reversing people into oncoming sniper fire. However, it suffers when presenting exposition through shot reverse shot or unnecessarily vulgar dialogue. In the end, Take Cover will please fans of Adkins and DTV action but will struggle to bring anything new to the table other than its different setting. Above all else, it is a serviceable actioner elevated by one of the genres brightest stars in Scott Adkins, ever the professional and a guiding light for action cinema, DTV or otherwise.

still courtesy of Signature Entertainment

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Brad Simon

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