Netflix’s ‘The Takedown’ is an buddy-cop action comedy set in France starring Omar Sy and Laurent Lafitte. The plot follows the investigation of a dangerous case in a small town in the Alps. The film is a sequel to 2012’s, ‘On the Other Side of the Tracks’.
Story
Set years after the events of the first one, The Takedown focuses on Ousmane Diakhité (Omar Sy) who is now the Chief of Paris’ Crime Branch and his former partner, François Monge (Laurent Lafitte).
François has had a not-so-impressive career in the force compared to Ousmane as he has failed the Chief’s exam thrice. The discovery of a severed torso at Lyon station causes the two to reconcile as they get on the case.
The investigation leads them to a small town called Valergnes where the lower half of the body is found. After discovering the involvement of heavy drugs in the area, the cop duo tries to get to the bottom of the murder which leads to the discovery of a dangerous terrorist plot, perpetrated by some very powerful people.
Performances
Omar Sy and Laurent Lafitte are the stellar and carry the film on their shoulders. Both roles are equally interesting with their unique sets of quirks that add a lot to the plot.
Omar Sy as Ousmane is headstrong and is willing to break protocol to get to the crux of his mission whereas Monge is a goofy and clumsy yet stern on following rules.
The actors get into the skin of their respective characters and perform so well that it feels like actual friends indulging in banter as they solve a dangerous case.
Laurent Lafitte is exceptionally good with his comedic timing and creates a great combination of buffoonery, charm, arrogance and an overactive sex drive with his character. Sy matches him at every step and brings a much needed wave of common sense and stability to the duo
The supporting cast is there to drive the plot forward but barely have any scenes long enough to earn a critique. The film is an outright Ousmane and François show.
Positives
The Takedown boasts of great leading cast chemistry mixed with some brilliant action and car chase sequences. The director, Louis Leterrier, has made sure that his film is slick, stylish and well-paced. The under-two-hours runtime is perfect for the film. Some of the camera work during the chase sequences is top notch.
The comedy surprisingly lands most of the times and adds to the viewing experience. Fortunately, another positive is that if you haven’t watched the prequel, the plot gives off enough subtle exposition to not make viewers feel lost.
In its own whacky and over-the-top way, The Takedown touches upon very important topics of drug use, discrimination, political crime and white superiority, among other things. Even though it is vulgar and racist at points, it is only to drive the message home.
Negatives
Unfortunately, at its core, The Takedown is just another generic buddy-cop film with nothing new to offer.
The writing is extremely predictable and plot twists become visible miles before their reveal. Also, it is riddled with overused tropes.
The antagonist is blatantly negative with no backstory behind his intentions. The internal conflicts between the leading pair leading to an eventual resolve as they solve the case is an overused concept.
Furthermore, despite its obvious narrative flow, the film tries to achieve a lot with its limited runtime and concept which doesn’t quite allow it to shine as much as it could have. The protagonists battling an entire town filled with racist white fascists is a confusing conclusion to say the least.
Verdict
The Takedown is a decent one-time-watch popcorn flick which you can enjoy if you’re in a mood to laugh and relax. However, for hardcore fans of action, this will feel like every other actioner out there that got lost in the immensely deep pool of the genre.
Rating: 2.5/5
