FilmSnobReviews

Title: The Tax Collector
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Director: David Ayer
Starring: Bobby Soto, Cinthya Carmona, Shia LaBeouf
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

What It Is: David (Soto) is a sort of tax collector for his family, headed by his father a currently incarcerated king of a Los Angeles gang. Alongside his muscle Creeper (LaBeouf) he collects and distributes whatever needs moving. When a former rival of his family begins to move into David’s turf he and Creeper must do what needs doing in order to keep himself and his family safe. And ensure the legacy of his family lives on.

What We Think: David Ayers continues to make very bad films. This one follows every single “gang” trope. You can tell where this film is going from the word go. Throughout you get Bobby Soto not being able to elevate the material here. It’s not that anything here is truly awful it just reeks of the stench of mediocre. A stench that is more than likely passed on from Ayers’s previous failures Suicide Squad and the abysmal Bright. This is to say nothing of the overt tropes mostly surrounding Latino life in Los Angeles. This is an ugly film. Shot terribly and featuring malice and apathy for the true issues this film has. Touching on topics at a surface level doesn’t say much if anything. The film desperately wants us to feel for David and builds its bromance between him and Creeper. This tactic does not get the desired results. Instead, this sputtering mess rambles to a noisy conclusion, one you don’t really need to stick around for. Simply aim a dart at a gang movie dartboard…whatever you hit…you’re right.

Our Grade: D, There’s no instance in which you should seriously consider viewing this film. While it is not totally devoid of merit it’s a mostly shallow exercise in excessive stupidity. There are things that happen in this film that is never fully explained and we as the audience are just supposed to say “okay” and forget it even happened. That honestly cannot be let go. Don’t bother trying to watch this utter mess of a piece.