Take Cover

I've always been a fan of Adkins and felt he deserved lead roles in action movies instead of always being supporting cast, and in this movie, he finally got that. But as usual, he's always in these B movies and usually with newb filmmakers, as is the case here. He did however carry the film, along with the rest of the cast that did their best with the terrible material they had to work with.

This movie is stuntman turned newb director Nick McKinless' first full length feature film, and I have to say, he did not disappoint - especially considering the terrible screenplay he had to work with. He directed this movie and his cast very well to the point he seemed like a seasoned director. Camera shots, action scenes and choreography were impressive, and he should be proud of his achievements. I feel McKinless has found his calling as a director.

However, where this movie failed miserably is in newb writer Joshua Todd James' terrible screenplay, that had the most pointless and cringeworthy dialogue I've ever heard. It's as if it was written by a bunch of high school drama class teenagers - riddled with annoying cuss words and frat-house back and forth bromance "my d*ick is bigger than yours" type dialogue. Then in between that, it was constant blah blah blahhh cringe dialogue that was mostly filler and did nothing to progress the narrative. This movie was literally the most boring and pointless sniper action movie I've seen.

From the entire middle act and on where they were hiding behind the sofas, was just nonsense conversation riddled with cliches, tedious exposition, shallow characterization and pointless dialogue. Even with the very short 80 min runtime (not counting all the opening and closing credits), the entire movie felt like it dragged on for over 2 hours. There just wasn't enough substance in this screenplay to be a full length movie, and would've been much more enjoyable as a short film. Never mind that the little substance there was, was riddled with plot holes and cliched parts taken from every other "one last job" movie out there.

Nevertheless, Adkins shined in this one, and it's too bad he spent most of his screen time blabbing nonsense instead of showcasing his action and fighting skills more than the barely five minutes he was given. It's a generous 5/10 from me.

Here's my review of Take Cover:

Scott Adkins was the only redeeming factor in this film, though calling it "enjoyable" would be a stretch. His performance managed to elevate certain moments, but unfortunately, it wasn't enough to save the movie.

The opening scene failed to make an impression, with a script that lacked both engagement and impact. The issue was compounded by the overly loud background music, which often drowned out the dialogue and made it hard to follow. This pattern continued throughout, making the viewing experience frustrating at best.

The plot and script were major disappointments, wasting the potential of some decent acting. The narrative felt dragged out and underwhelming, with scenes like the one in the hotel room coming across as bland and predictable. There was no tension or excitement, as it was far too easy to guess what would happen next.

While the cinematography was decent, the music often overstayed its welcome, especially in moments that were supposed to be pivotal. The script felt rushed and uninspired, leaving the actors with little to work with, though some performances stood out slightly above the rest.

Overall, Take Cover had potential but was let down by its weak script, predictable narrative, and poor sound design, making it a forgettable experience despite Scott Adkins' best efforts.

While I had indeed never heard about the 2024 action thriller "Take Cover", as I stumbled upon it here in 2025, I opted to watch it regardless. Why? Well, I believe in giving all movies a fair chance. And the fact that it was a movie with Scott Adkins in the leading role certainly was a cherry on top of the serving.

The storyline in "Take Cover" was okay. It was entertaining enough for what it was, but it was a bit on the simplistic side. This movie requires no particular commitment from the audience, so just lean back and enjoy the action. "Take Cover" is a popcorn movie, pure and simple. So writer Joshua Todd James didn't really impress me with the script and storyline for the movie.

The acting performances in the movie were fair. And of course you know what you are getting with the likes of Scott Adkins on the cast list. Aside from Scott Adkins, the only familiar face on the cast list was Alice Eve.

"Take Cover" does have a good amount of action sequences, which certainly do more than their fair share of keeping the movie afloat and interesting.

This movie will appeal to fans of Scott Adkins, no doubt about that. But if you opt to sit down to watch "Take Cover" on account of it being an action thriller, well let me just say that there are far better choices of movies out there with a more compelling and interesting storyline.

Watchable, for sure, but hardly an outstanding action thriller. Nor is it a movie that has the contents to support more than a single viewing.

My rating of director Nick McKinless's 2024 movie "Take Cover" lands on a five out of ten stars.

This was pretty poor. It looks like a made for TV movie, that wouldn't even had made it to the VHS bargain bin back in the day.

The acting is lame. The script is atrocious which attempts to play somewhere between a Ryan Reynolds 'action comedy' and an epicly poor Tarantino action thriller.

Adkins colleague is very bad indeed. The action sequences are very poor.

I'd strongly recommend that you give this a wide berth. It's one of those films where you really wish that you can't unsee it, or feel bad about the amount of time that you lost watching it. I had to turn it off at about 35 minutes just during the flat fight sequence. I wish I'd given it up sooner.

The script itself was not really all that bad. Scott Adkins always performs fight scenes very well, so there's that. However, this supposed professional contractor makes some of the most ridiculous decisions just to prolong the plot/movie that it's hardly relatable. Example: being pinned down for a long, long time by a sniper, supposedly unable to reach his weapon, with people getting shot the whole time, when I guess he gets tired of it and just goes for the gun... successfully, of course, then, within 3 seconds, sets up a shot and takes out the shooter in a building 1/2 a mile away. Really? There are several more "why in the heck don't you just..." scenarios like this that even a not so smart person would think of almost immediately. Like I said, the only redeeming value are the fight scenes. It's worth a watch if you can find absolutely nothing else to do.