The Take

Leguizamo knocks it out of the park as an armored car driver in The Take.

If you were going to show what happens to a man who loses the best part of himself, you'd want to cast John Leguizamo, who has spent his career leaping from one extreme characterization to another.

Occasionally the visuals seem overly stylized, but Mr. Furman knows enough to showcase his stars’ unvarnished performances.

Furman draws superb performances from Leguizamo and Perez, two actors whose hyperactive energy has often been a distraction. Here, they're centered and completely believable as a hardworking couple whose life has been turned inside out.

An unlikely but entertaining amalgam of "Heat," "Memento" and "Regarding Henry," Brad Furman's streetwise caper drama The Take is elevated by the potent performances of John Leguizamo and Rosie Perez and a momentum that seldom stops.

The plot holds no surprises, but the eventual climactic foot chase and showdown suffice (if barely) to satisfy genre expectations.

The story does feel a little threadbare, and much of the pacing is far too slow for a suspense thriller. But Perez and Leguizamo make an entirely believable couple.