Idris Elba: Is Not a Criminal, He only Plays them in the movies

Okay, so we exaggerate - but only just a bit. His most high-profiling outing was as drug pusher Stringer on HBO's landmark series "The Wire" and he looked quite comfortable as part of the London underworld (opposite Gerard Butler and Thandie Newton) in Rock n' Rolla"

this time around, he's the defacto leader of a group of bank robbers. They are in and out like clockwork, leaving no evidence behind and laying low in between heists. of course, there's the lure of that proverbial "one last job" with more money at stake than ever before, suggested by a fresh-sprung former crew member (T.I., who may have earned his stripes as a producer on this flick, can't act to save his life).

The crew (including a pleasantly mature Chris Brown) also has to contend with a hardened detective (Matt Dillon)who is hell-bent on solving the case. Plus Elba's character has to cope with a crackhead sister who refuses to complete rehab.

Takers moves pretty fluidly from action to cat-and-mouse and back to action, and the foot chases in particular are quite engagingly shot. Some scenes are a bit choppy though and the final denouement left me cold.

But overall, Takers is a good weekend grab, if looking for warm-up to a night out and as for our good friend Idris - he's got Thor coming up next year. Let's see which side of the fence he's on there.