REVIEW #19 The Tax Collector (2020)

The tax collector is a crime/thriller film directed by David Ayer following David Cuevas who works as a tax collector for one of the biggest gangs in LA. There is a fight for power as both sides do their best to wipe out the rival gang, whilst one man just tries to protect his family.

CAST & THE ACTING (7.5/10)

Shia LaBeouf is the biggest name in this film, he plays the role of Creeper, David’s right hand man and executor. Other than that there wasn’t any names or faces I recognised but the acting was good and there wasn’t anything to criticise there. You could tell Shia was extremely committed to this role, he really brought this character to life. He plays this ruthless killer and you could almost tell that just by his facial expressions in some scenes. Bobby Soto who plays David also delivers a strong performance, we see him transition from a position of power and confidence to someone scared for his and his family’s safety and he portrays the range of emotion very well. The acting from the other cast members was pretty basic and certainly nothing worth mentioning.

PLOT & THE STORYLINE (7.5/10)

The reason I have given an average score here is because it is a storyline we have seen so much before which made it pretty predictable. There were a few shock moments throughout the film but you knew what you was getting right from the beginning. I would say that because it was only an hour and a half long it made the film feel a little rushed, it escalated so quickly without a proper build up. Nonetheless I did still enjoy it and I thought the plot did do well to keep my attention.

CINEMATOGRAPHY & SPECIAL (8/10)

There were a few really good scenes in this film, one particular slow motion gun fight towards the end really stood out. A range of camerawork was used, the scene flowed well and really built up the excitement. The special effects were also good in terms of making the gruesome nature of this film look very realistic. This isn’t a film for the feint hearted because there is a lot of blood and gore in some of the scenes but it all looked real so the prosthetics and effects deserve a decent score here.

OVERALL (7.6/10)

I thought The Tax Collector was a good watch and it kept my attention throughout, the acting from the two lead actors Shia LaBeouf and Bobby Soto stood out and the action scenes were nicely done. Although the storyline was predictable and perhaps a little rushed it was still a good watch. This film was decimated by official reviews like IMDB and rotten tomatoes which I felt were a little harsh and could have really turned people away from watching. So give it a go and don’t focus to much on the scores that you see straight away on google because you’ll probably enjoy it.

Thanks for reading!

Callan