Take Cover

As usual, Scott Adkins is as good as it gets. But when you have a terrible script, two likable actors in the lead are wasted in silly, inane, predictable style. He is 10 times the actor and the martial artist that jvcd ever was. But for reasons I cannot explain, he gets stuck in b minus movies like these. Most of the movie takes place at the penthouse of a hotel room where they duck behind a sofa for cover,. Yes a sofa which has bullet holes through it as if a sniper couldn't just pepper it and kill everyone and end the movie.

Accident man is one of Atkins best including avengement. Stick with those, skip this..

Professional mercenary sniper Sam Lorde (Scott Adkins) finds himself in the middle of an existential crisis when he accidentally kills an innocent who throws herself in front of his intended victim. He contacts his remote boss and tells her he wants to leave the business. The boss is very disappointed but books him and his spotter Ken (Jack Parr) into a posh hotel where she'll meet them to go through formalities. However, someone else knows they are there and they are out for vengeance... Right let's say the good things first. By the end of the film, it's quite feel good and you've enjoyed a convoluted story. I very much liked the performance of Madalina Bellariu Ion who plays call girl Mona. Perhaps the best performance of the entire film.

Right, the dogs ears...the script is truly awful. The non stop pseudo-hateful banter between Sam and Ken is acutely badly written and sounds as fake as it is. Fight scenes are pretty poor. Acting is pretty poor. Verbalised emotions are half felt and not explored properly. There are so many plot holes it borders on ridiculous, and there's too much melodrama from poor actors.

Having said all of that the story while not new at all, isn't bad. If this film had great actors and a top end director it probably would have been pretty good. As it was it wasn't dire, it just wasn't very well produced or directed in so many ways. I have had a very tasty and enjoyable dinner so I am in a great mood and I give it a 5.

The writing is just dreadful. From the cringeworthy opening conversation between Sam and Ken to the closing scene there isn't anything good. The script is laughable.

Even the fight scenes are slightly below par which is unusual for an Adkins movie.

I was pleased at the hit squad completely destroying the bar area, but failing to hit the fish tank. No one likes seeing fish getting shot up, do they?

Even though they are trapped in the apartment, there is very little in the way of tension. For some reason, they are struggling to close the curtains and there are a few times when they could leave by the door.

The high reviews on here are obviously fake. If you feel you must, then watch it and judge for yourself. This Scott Adkins fan is very dissappointed.

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.

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.