The Tax Collector

 

As time goes by, crime dramas seem to become more gratuitously violent. I'm not sure why, except for the fact that we are living in a time where the only thing that seems to get the public's attention is how over-the-top our news and lives have become. It's like what came first? Are films more violent because of the times in which we live, or these kinds of films cause those to go out and become violent? "The Tax Collector" certainly addresses this replete with crime, greed and violence abound.

David (Bobby Soto) and Creeper (Shia LaBeouf) are 'tax collectors' for the crime lord, Wizard (Jimmy Smits), collecting cut from the profits of local gangs' illicit dealings. But when Wizard's old rival, Conejo (Conejo) returns to Los Angeles from Mexico, the business is upended and David finds himself desperate to protect what matters more to him than anything else: his family, including his wife, Alexis (Cinthya Carmona). Between David, Creeper and David's uncle, Louis (George Lopez), will they be able to hold Conejo and his henchmen back in order to maintain order and protect his family? 

Others to round out the cast are Cheyenne Rae Hernandez as Gata, Noel G as Snoopy, Cle Slogan as Bone, Elpidia Carrillo as Janet and Rene Moran as Victor. 

This was intensely and grittily directed by David Ayers ("Harsh Times" '05, "Street Kings" '08, "End of Watch" '12, "Sabotage" '14, "Fury" '14, "Suicide Squad" '16, "Bright" '17) plus video shorts and TV. As with his other films, Ayer certainly centers on crime and gangs with how these two elements are intertwined and shows us what's really going on out there in the seediest of hoods. He truly has an effective handle on how to showcase his characters in coming across as realistic as possible. In other words, he doesn't gloss any situations over, but rather hits us between the eyes which is tough to watch. He also wrote the script as well. Ayer's writing ("U-571" 2000, "The Fast and the Furious" '01, "Training Day" '01, "Dark Blue" '02, "S.W.A.T." '03, "Harsh Times" '05, "End of Watch" '12, "Sabotage" '14, "Fury" '14, "Suicide Squad" '16) plus TV, is always aggressive and over-the top mostly to stress a point, especially in his latter films, such as "End of Watch" and "Dark Blue". Even though Ayer's films make a tough sit, one can certainly appreciate the message behind them. As with a lot of his film, again specifically, one will not actually watch his films for the entertainment factor as much as to learn something societally. Certainly this had inconsistencies in it, but the message Ayer was attempting to unfold make it a little more palatable. If you like his brand of writing and directing, his "The Wild Bunch" is announced with a 2022 release and his "Bright 2" has also been announced. 

Mind you, this is not a rated film, which usually means there are elements of gratuitous sex, drugs or violence which this is certainly not without those aspects, however after watching this, it certainly wasn't any better or worse than its 'R' rating counterpart. This is not to say that this is for everyone, especially kids, but I was expecting something far more gratuitous. This film is obviously for those single guys out there that love violence and fast cars and explosions. This, like the last I reviewed was viewed on my DVD player since my theaters are closed due to covid. So, this was purchased it being a 2020 release earlier in the year. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                        Rated: Not Rated                                          95mins.