While he may have appeared in the recent The Killer’s Game (2024), Scott Adkins fans may have been disappointed by how limited his screen time was. They wouldn’t have the same complaint with his most recent actioner Take Cover, with Adkins appearing in almost every scene.
The directorial debut of stuntman Nick McKinless, Take Cover is a brisk action thriller that clocks in under 90 minutes. A simple meat and potatoes film, it doesn’t offer anything new. There’s no real surprises in how the plot unfolds, with McKinless giving his audience exactly what they expect. That means a generous helping of hand-to-hand combat and some gunplay which is all peppered with some humorous one liners.
Adkins stars as Sam Lorde, a burnt out sniper who has decided that his next job will be his final hit (never a good sign). Along with his friend and spotter Ken (Jack Parr), Sam travels to Hamburg to do this final job. Put up in a penthouse suite, the two of them are shown a night of luxury by employer Tamara (Alice Eve). It’s not long until a pair of masseuses Mona (Madalina Bellariu Ion) and Lily (Alba De Toerrebruna) show up, with the constantly horny Ken being especially grateful. As Ken enjoys himself, Sam can’t shake a feeling of uneasiness, a feeling he is right to have as it’s not long until everyone in the room finds themselves having to take cover from a barrage of bullets courtesy of a sniper in a far away building.
As well as having to avoid the sniper’s scope, Sam and Ken have to face off against an assortment of mercenaries who storm the room whenever the shooting stops. With little in the way of cover, Sam must use all his wits and skills if he is to survive the night and find out who is trying to kill him.
It is obvious that Take Cover was a low budget affair, with the majority of the film taking place within the confines of a hotel suite. McKinless and his team clearly use this restricted setting to their advantage, with the claustrophobic confines of the room allowing for a fair level of tension.
Clearly realizing that a one room setting for the entirety could put viewers off, the filmmakers kick off the film with a failed assassination where Adkins and Jack Parr have to fight through a small team of mercenaries. It makes for an exciting opening, giving a taste of what’s to come as well as giving Adkins an early opportunity in the film to show off his skills.
Whilst the idea of the remainder of the film taking place in almost the one locale may not fill you with excitement, McKinless fills that room with enough violent carnage to keep any action fan entertained. This may not be top tier Adkins, but I doubt anyone was expecting it to be. Obviously it was never going to reach the lofty heights of Boyka (2016) or Avengement (2019), but Take Cover still has a lot to recommend for both Adkins and action fans.
I would have perhaps appreciated a couple more fight scenes but what was offered is still of a generally high quality. The film is certainly more exciting when focusing on the fight scenes rather than the tension based scenes where Adkins and his co-stars have to hide from snipers. It isn’t that these scenes are particularly bad, but they do sometimes slow down the pace. Thankfully McKinless seems to understand this, with him not wasting too much time before we are treated to another action scene.
If I had one complaint regarding the action, I would have liked the fight scenes to be slightly longer. There is some fine choreography being incorporated during the fight scenes, but often they feel like they are just heating up only to be over. Additionally, none of those Adkins faces off against are a match for him. The same issue could be levied at even the best of Adkins’ output, but personally I always think it manages to generate a level of excitement in a martial arts film where our hero has a combatant that is their equal or even in some cases their superior.
As expected, Adkins never fails to impress. As well as excelling at the action he manages to inject a good deal of personality into his character, which is good, because this is one of Adkins’ blandest heroes in some time. He lacks the edge of Accident Man’s (2018) Mike Fallon or Avengement’s Cain Burgess, both roles that allowed Adkins to stretch himself as an actor. The same can’t be said for Take Cover’s Sam Lorde. It doesn’t help that he is asked to deliver an assortment of cringey lines. As mentioned, there is some funny dialogue, but the film’s script falters when it attempts to pull at the heart strings. This is a shame, as screenwriter Joshua Todd James’ had previously written the Jean-Claude Van Damme film Pound of Flesh (2015). That film also attempted to affect the viewers emotions, but it did it more successfully than Take Cover.
The small supporting cast all do decent work but this is mostly Adkins’ show. There is hardly a scene where he doesn’t appear or is the focus of. Jack Parr is likeable as friend and right hand man Ken, but he doesn’t get much in the way to do once the bullets start flying. Madalina Bellariu Ion doesn’t really get in on the action, rather her character Mona is used more as the film conscience, with her making Adkins’ Lorde question his life choices. On paper this probably worked, but to be honest her character mostly comes off as hypocritical, so much so that I was glad when Parr’s Ken told her to shut up.
SPOILER ALERT: Then there’s Alice Eve as the film’s main antagonist. Considering how well known Eve is, she doesn’t have much in the way of screentime. Her voice is heard throughout the film, but is mostly over the phone. When she does appear she is always either shot from the back or we are shown her mouth or hands. It was almost like watching an old James Bond film where they tried to keep Blofeld mysterious rather than show how he looked. It isn’t until towards the end of the film where we get to see Eve in profile and it is only for a short scene.
Eve does well enough but to be honest, it could have been anyone on the other end of the line. It is no real surprise when she is revealed to be the villain of the film. Because it’s Eve in the role, you know there’s very little chance of her physically facing off against Adkins, something that would actually have been interesting to see on screen. Eve isn’t someone I would normally associate with the action genre, so to see her undertake a physical action role would certainly have piqued my interest. Alas, this was not to be.
Take Cover certainly pales in comparison to other Adkins vehicles, but for a fast moving action fix you could do a lot worse. With a relatively short run time and several quality action scenes, Take Cover comes recommended, even if only for a one time watch. It works as a nice calling card for director Nick McKinless, showing what he can do with limited resources.
Additionally, it will also keep Adkins fans entertained until his next film comes around, which par for the course doesn’t seem that long, with the workaholic action star already having several films either in production or due for release. There’s the upcoming Skyline: Warpath which teams him with Iko Uwais then there’s Diablo where he will be starring alongside regular collaborator Marko Zaror once again. In between these there is also WWII actioner Death March where he will be working under old pal Louis Mandylor, who is stepping behind the camera for their latest team up.
Take Cover is currently available both digitally as well as on physical media, albeit only on DVD.
Plot: 2.5/5
Acting: 3/5
Action: 3.5/5
Overall: 3/5