An enjoyable thriller as long as you don’t look too closely
Not all movies are meant to be cinematic pieces of art or genre-defining classics. Some are just meant to be an easy watch on a cosy weekend night, with take-out and a bucket of ice cream. The Takeover is one of those movies.
It follows Mel Bandison, a tech expert by day and an ethical hacker by night. She takes up a job to inspect a self-driving bus and in the process, blocks a pipeline put there by hackers. But this one act puts her life in danger. Suddenly Mel finds herself running for her life while being blackmailed by a mysterious organisation. She’s on the run with Thomas, a man she went on one date with, as her only support.
The Takeover has all the elements of a typical thriller movie — a feisty female protagonist, snarling British villains, an international government involved in a conspiracy and one truly unnecessary romance.
It’s all clichéd but very easy to watch and enjoy, with no convoluted plot points or technical mumbo jumbo. Instead, lovely uncomplicated neon lines and patterns draw you into the world of coding. Except for a lull at the middle mark, the film is mostly fast-paced and accompanied by heart-pumping music. There are a fair few characters speaking in English but not all of it comes across very clearly. Also, Netflix has a habit of not subtitling English dialogues in foreign movies which is truly frustrating. The run time of 1 hour and 27 minutes is ideal for a straightforward story like this one and it’s a relief they haven’t stretched it out.
Of course, you do need to leave logic aside for some of the time. If you look too closely you might see that it was way too easy for Thomas to jump from a moving car to a moving bus or you might realise how unrealistic it is that the building with the bus’s server room is empty, unprotected and basically opening its arms for Mel.
The romantic storyline is one that can, and must, be overlooked. Mel and Thomas don’t share any chemistry. The frantic movement of the plot leaves no space for romance and nor does it need to. The advantage is that ignoring the romance is practically effortless.
That said, Holly Mae Brood is wonderfully endearing as the stoic and witty Mel. She plays the genius tech expert in a way that makes you in awe of her while also rooting for her.
Another highlight of the film is Mel’s relationship with her mentor, Buddy. Here, the film brings forth some rare complexity that is wonderful to bear. Their relationship starts out when Buddy finds her hacking an air force base at the age of sixteen. From then on it was a standard mentor-mentee association and you can tell Buddy played a bit of a father-figure role too. But certain betrayals made them part ways, and how! This part of the film is undeniably what I, personally, loved most.
Overall, this thriller makes for a fun movie night if all you want to do is switch off your brain and let it rest.
Read More: The Takeover Ending Explained
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Verdict - 6.5/10
6.5/10