Parents' Guide to The Takeover

There's a lot to like in this quick, pacey, thriller. But The Takeover is also quite shallow and a movie that doesn't want the audience thinking that much. Illogical inconsistencies bring down the believability of a lot of what happens, especially the denouement where the film literally turns into Speed (the Keanu Reeves classic). Not very much is explained, either, regarding the actual conspiracy, how "the Chinese government" is exactly behind all this, or why Interpol isn't interested. Thus, the movie doesn't want a thinking audience, but nor is the movie made for the oppositely inclined. Surface-level thriller is written large across the board, so to speak.

Fittingly, the characters seem to be drawn thinly, with each person's role and purpose clearly delineated. No character ever surprises or does something unexpected, so they become simple functions of moving the story along. This is a little limiting, given that the film could've had more personality if the characters had more personality. Yet, this isn't the fault of Holly Mae Brood's performance as Mel. She does what she can with a very restricting script and thin character. But the story does move along quickly.