Elba's magnetic physical presence delivers so much without doing much of anything. But his fans deserve so much better than a couple of dumb quips and a little ultra-violence.

| Original Score: 1/4 | Nov 18, 2016

Most of The Take's moving parts feel like spinning cogs, devoid of fit or function.

| Original Score: C | Nov 17, 2016

Yes, it's uncomfortable watching a terror-themed tale in a city that so recently dealt with real terrorism. But if you can get past that, the movie sweeps you along with a brisk pace and even dashes of humor.

| Nov 17, 2016

A strictly by-the-numbers political thriller that fails to capitalize on Idris Elba's formidable screen presence.

| Nov 17, 2016

Unimaginative, retrograde pulp fit for the bargain bin.

| Nov 17, 2016

Director James Watkins keeps things reasonably interesting, but his characters are not well drawn, which hinders the buddy dynamic between Mason and Briar.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Nov 16, 2016

For a film so interested in the public's malleability, The Take isn't particularly good at controlling its own audience.

| Original Score: 2/4 | Nov 14, 2016

Packed into a tight 90 minutes, the film has a visual leanness that almost amounts to plainness, presumably dictated by a relatively low budget.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | May 17, 2016

A drama lifted by an entertaining script, old-fashioned action scenes and a few surprising twists.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 13, 2016

What is an action hero? Somebody who's better at thumping than thinking. And so far as that goes, Idris Elba is your man.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 24, 2016

Crunchy fights and a vertiginous rooftop chase crank up the action, while viral videos and hashtagged calls to arms lend an illusion of modernity to the old-fashioned proceedings.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 24, 2016

Bastille Day is a cheesy but enjoyable Paris set thriller which underlines Idrs Elba's fast rising credentials as an action hero.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 22, 2016

Fine. Nothing more.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 22, 2016

Idris Elba as a brutal yet charming Bourne-esque CIA operative is the sole pleasure on offer in Bastille Day, a film that is otherwise close to ill-conceived mess.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 21, 2016

The muddy cinematography manages to make such famously pulchritudinous people as Elba and Kelly Reilly look as if they've just stumbled damply in from an evening's bingo.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 21, 2016

With a rooftop chase scene as good as anything in Bourne, Bastille Day is a serviceably brash thriller.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 21, 2016

It rarely makes sense - the script vastly overestimates the power of the hashtag as a weapon of mass destruction - but you're never bored.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 21, 2016

Compared with the exhausting, seven-course dinner service we're increasingly being offered, it's like grabbing a swift cheeseburger on the way home.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 21, 2016

It ends up playing like a shoddy blend of V for Vendetta and Mr. Robot but without the budget bandwidth or style of either.

| Apr 19, 2016

It's Watkins' lean, keen instinct for choreographing and cutting action set pieces that keeps "Bastille Day" afloat.

| Apr 19, 2016