The Tax Collector - Review

David Ayer delivers his best work since End of Watch with new dark crime thriller

Director: David Ayer

Writer: David Ayer

Starring: Bobby Soto, Shia LaBouf, Cinthya Carmona, Jose Conejo Martin, Cheyenne Rae Hernandez, Cle Sloan, George Lopez, Chelsea Rendon

Info: NR 1hr 35min Crime, Thriller RLJE Films August 7, 2020

Grade: 4 out of 5

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Writer/Director David Ayer (Training Day, End of Watch) shows a return to form after laboring through stinkers like Suicide Squad and Bright. The Tax Collector takes a dark look in to the Chicano criminal underbelly of Los Angeles. It's tough gritty and taut, at times relentlessly. While some uneven performances and a twist ending that feels lazy and hackney keep it action/thriller from reaching higher, The Tax Collector is still entertaining and well executed enough in other areas to make up for it’s smaller inadequacies.

David (Bobby Soto) and his working partner, Creeper (Shia Labouf), are criminal “tax collectors” for the powerful and dangerous “Wizard”, an ambiguous crime lord who rules over the illicit underworld of L.A. from the comfort of his prison cell. David has a beautiful wife, Alexa (Cinthya Carmona), and two adorable children. He is a good father, a loving husband, and a ruthless killer.

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David believes he can keep his family life and his criminal dealings separate because of protection he beleives is give to him from God through his faith; but Creeper has his doubts. After an apparently old enemy of Wizards named Conejo (Jose Conejo Martin) returns to wreak havoc and take over the empire, David’s faith and ability to keep his two worlds separate is pushed to the brink.

David is a complex, nuanced, and well-written character, but Bobby Soto struggles to consistently capture him at that level; at times failing to match the emotional intensity of the most dramatic scenes.

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Shia Labouf, on the other hand gives a note worthy portrayal of a mid- to high-functioning sociopath and elevates everyone in every scene he is in, including Soto. He’s also the only white character and seems to have been influenced by the Chicano culture in which he is immersed.

The Latino women shine in The Tax Collector. Especially Cheyenne Rae Hernandez as Gata, Conejo’s quiet but ruthless lover and sidekick. Hernadez plays her to bone-chilling perfection.

The story doesn’t wrap up as cleanly as it could have, but it’s still nice to see a project that creates so many roles Latinos as they tend to receive just as little if not less representation in cinema than most. It’s about as close as we’ll get to a summertime action/thriller in 2020, so get to your livingroom and support a good movie with a strong Latino cast.