Take the Night (2022) Poster

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6/10
An impressive first full-length feature indie B film.
Top_Dawg_Critic19 July 2022
Ignore the clearly blatant and bogus high reviews, as well as the tools who gave this film one's and two's, as this film deserves neither. What this is, is a great first full length feature film as writer, director (only a handful of prior short films), producer and first-time actor co/star for Seth McTigue.

His directing was surprisingly spot-on, and the cinematography near perfect, with an impressive tension-filled score that was fitting and captivating - especially for a B film.

Casting and performances were on point, and the production values quite impressive. The story was great conceptually and executed cohesively, although some tweaking by a seasoned writer would've complimented the screenplay greatly. There were some character developments that lacked clarity and needed more depth, that otherwise felt like filler; e.g. Why/what's the deal with the Bonsai tree?

There were some plot issues, and although I get the last act, it could've been better played out. The film also needed more substance and dramatics, and less convoluted and unnecessary filler that made it lack the depth and scope one would expect in this genre.

The pacing was a little slow, but the comfortable 82 min runtime with constant suspenseful twists and the excellent score, will keep you engaged throughout.

Nevertheless, I applaud this newb filmmaker/actor, because he still created a little gem, rookie mistakes and all. It's a solid 7-8/10, but only gets a 6 from me for the blatant high reviews of which I can't stand.
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4/10
Overrated
Draysan-Jennings11 July 2022
All the 10 star reviews are definitely fake because there is no way in hell someone actually enjoyed watching this crap. It had some decent cinematography but that was it. Definitely not a film I'd recommend.
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5/10
Great story with mediocre acting
DezmoTheMovieMan8 July 2022
I'll start off by saying that I did actually enjoy this movie, I feel it had a great story-line and had enough going on that I never lost interest. The premise is not a secret, the "screw up" brother wants the "smart" brother to enjoy his birthday; they are wealthy. The "smart" brother works too much. Roy Huang plays Willian Chang the "screw up" brother, and Sam Song Li plays Robert, the overworked brother. William decides to have his brother kidnaped and force him to loosen up, so he hires some guy he doesn't know to take Robert after he leaves work.

The rest of the story is filled with questions and decent story that shows who, what, where, why and how for both the antagonist and the protagonist.

My big problem with this movie is that I feel Seth McTigue overacts in every scene. His character is Chad; he's the bad guy, and I get it that Chad is conflicted, but c'mon man. I feel his overacting was so severe, it made me question the other actors in the movie even though they did fine. I've always believed that you don't need a-list actors to pull off a great movie, but you do need actors that do a decent job playing a role. You can't take yourself TOO seriously, or you come off too stoic and overact your role. Brenna Keel Cook had a significant role and did a great job as did the other two bad guys. Matter of a fact, all of the remaining actors pulled off their roles equally well, but I honestly think Seth McTigue hurt this movie more that he helped it by casting himself as the antagonist.

The cinematography was actually pretty well done, I love the angles, the lighting, the feel. Some of the long-held poses became distracting, but not too over the top. I get it, a good looking guy like Roy Huang giving us a silhouette in the perfect lighting. But lets not hold that pose too long, else you over-do a moment.

Overall the movie was enjoyable, but I gotta be honest and say that this movie would have been 10 time better had there been an actor cast as Chad that didn't overdo the role.
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3/10
Low quality
FeastMode14 July 2022
Take the Night has an entertaining premise and a mildly intriguing story. Unfortunately it's a mostly low-quality movie, especially with the acting and dialogue. It's not put together very well and is surprisingly slow for such a short movie. The best part is the musical score. I didn't hate watching it, but it's definitely not good. (1 viewing, 7/13/2022)
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2/10
A Masterclass in Bad Filmmaking
PlotThicc20 July 2022
"Take the Night" is a new crime drama that follows two rivaling brothers who must set aside their beef and takedown a motley crew of criminals that stole a family heirloom during a botched abduction.

This film is bad. Here are 13 reasons where I think the film went wrong.

1. Seth McTigue. He co-wrote the screenplay, leads the cast, co-produced this film and directed it. This is his first feature film credit. He was too involved in this project and needed some distance from it to understand what works and doesn't.

2. The story meanders. There's a subplot surrounding one of the antiheroes, which was more compelling than the main plot and the main characters. He's a former basketball star who's food insecure and robbing as a means to eat. That was more compelling than a jealous brother hiring the wrong criminals to kidnap his brother as a sick prank.

3. The pacing is belabored and so incremental to the point that the viewer is inundated with unnecessary information, which doesn't move the story along. It takes 36 minutes to get to the inciting incident- the actual abduction.

4. The performances were weak. The actors stare aimlessly as if they're reaching for their lines.

5. The dialogue is amateurish. Lines are redundant, reiterating action that is already descriptive. Over-explaining conveys that the writer doesn't trust the audience to understand what's happening onscreen.

6. The stunts are sloppy. And not just the choreography, but the editing of the stunts are blunt and choppy.

7. Speaking of editing - some scenes are too short and break abruptly. Other scenes are too long and float like segments.

8. Cinematography. The camera gets shaky - not purposely like a steadicam in action sequences, but uncontrollably shaking during dialogue heavy scenes. The camera lands on characters and lingers even when they aren't the subject.

9. The characters are flat and one-dimensional and there are too many of them to follow. Their backstory is cheapened by flashing back to their respective childhoods. The viewer is given more info about arbitrary characters than about the main brothers. And, their backstory doesn't make you root for them as dual protagonists. The former basketball player's backstory has more dramatic tension that makes the viewer care. And characters are introduced that serve no purpose in the story. Wasted on scenes that don't drive the story at all.

10. The lighting is gloomy. The location shots are too inky and shadowy.

11. The score is too loud and domineering to the point that it tries to carry the load of the performances to drive the dramatic tension, which was irritating.

12. The concept isn't original. I think they were going for David Fincher's THE GAME but the build-up to the action fizzles because too much time is wasted on irrelevant plot points, dead-end storylines and under-developed characters.

13. Finally, the Title. It has nothing to do with nothing.

TAKE THE NIGHT is a masterclass in bad filmmaking. It's imperative to take some distance and not have your hands in all the pots so that you have objectivity without compromising your creativity.
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1/10
Worst
jceli14 July 2022
Absolutely without question the worst movie I've ever watched. Whoever wrote the script had to be around 8 or 9 years old. The actors were horrible in everyway. I'm glad I watched this for free so the only thing I wish I could have back is the 80 min of pure crap that it took to watch this "movie"
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1/10
If you really, really, reeeeaaally have nothing else to do ...
omegasupreme-1953710 July 2022
... go watch this movie otherwise don't waste your time on it. Acting is not that good, plot holes all over the place, story is predictable right from the start etc. It had more potential I am sure, but that is not how it went.
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8/10
Great Indie
ajeigbee11 July 2022
This was a really well shot indie from start to finish.it's been quite a while since I've seen a crime/drama indie that was a great watch. This film really grasps your attention from the start, and keeps you wondering what's going to happen next.
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7/10
Good movie
akeem-9272812 July 2022
Take the might was a good movie. I really enjoyed how it was filmed. The concept was thrilling and it was suspenseful. I would definitely recommend seeing.
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2/10
I want back the red envelope
nogodnomasters15 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Robert Chang (Sam Song Li) inherits a large corporation from his father and his brother William (Roy Huang). William hires some real life criminals to kidnap his brother as a gag for his birthday and then let loose for a surprise party. The criminals have some plans of their own.

The characters were not developed well enough to care about them. I was confused as to who was the good guys, the guys being robbed or the robbers. The robbers were a group of misfits.

Guide: No F-word, sex or nudity.
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8/10
No Joke
roberta-3706311 July 2022
Take The Night was fascinating & unpredictable; with interesting characters, who performed well in their respective roles. This is a tale which I have not seen the likes of before. The concept for this movie had a unique story line. Also, I really liked that sports car!
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6/10
pretty good...
ops-5253511 July 2022
Set up for a good action thriller, but fails heavily at the key moments of the plot, but the little twist in the end are able to mend a little bit. So if you ever should like to prank kidnap your own family, check out well on beforehand who to use.

The production goes from brilliant to mediocre and back multipel times, and the acting keeps the same bait, the story was good but the complexity of making a good peformance just isnt perfect. Therefore just a weak 6 from the grumpy old man.
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Solid Heist Drama
lv8889 July 2022
Heist drama, not necessarily a heist thriller. Lot's of emotional weight many of the characters carry with them. Overall well done and a fairly tight 90 minutes.

I enjoyed the writer was able to voice characters that truly felt separate/distinct from each other.
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5/10
Great Directing and Cinematography. Sub Par Acting and Story
ericgoldberg-5015918 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The movie's premise doesn't make sense. There is no logical reason why the brother of the main character would throw a surprise birthday party by having him kidnapped. The acting is sub par except Roy Huang and Sam Song Li did well. The directing and cinematography were great. Very professional.
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8/10
fabulous production
yakinbaju2 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This film is an exciting and suspenseful thriller with excellent performances. It also has impressive production values, and the cinematography is top-notch.
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Thrilling Movie
nybmc1212 July 2022
Take the Night is a thrilling movie from beginning to end with a prank kidnapping, unexpected plot twists and strong acting from the entire cast. Great cinematography, lighting and music. Impressive first feature film by the director.
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7/10
Interesting Indie Film
jackzhang-4765114 July 2022
Definitely worth a watch! Not bored for the entire movie. Good crime/drama film to watch. The film grasps your attention pretty decently from the start.
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10/10
EPIC.
vpleacoff-3092711 July 2022
This filmmaker' Seth McTigue's first time feature film is an absolute winner. It's straight up badass, and the definition of cool storytelling in cinema. Totally worth the view and time will tell what exciting new moves this filmmaker will take.
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7/10
No Prank
jillmctigue15 July 2022
Take the Night has a good combination personality conflicts, drama, action & mystery in the story. There are twists and turns that kept me interested, through out the movie. I liked the acting and felt the characters were believable and convincing.
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10/10
Thrilled
moviefreakpro12 July 2022
I went to watch this movie with my girl friend! She only watch horror movie haha! I insisted her to watch this film as I really liked the poster and I like thriller and adventure typa movies ! After watching the movie she said she actually got hooked in the entire movie and she suggested her sister on call to come and watch it! Go watch it, recommended!
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6/10
The ending?
gabrielle_gagnier31 July 2022
It was well done characterization the storyline. The timing was really good too. The connection between the similarities of the two families was important to the movie. I just thought there would be more to the ending.
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10/10
10/10
Even though this movie is not perfect but to me it was well made 95 percent time it engaged me omg ! Very good story and amazing directing! Everyone did very good acting as well ! I dnt know any one the actor i think they are new but good job ! This is why im rating 10/10 beacasue its a indie film ! Good directing mr. Seth the director.
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8/10
Just amazing
debjanibarman-245164 September 2022
Prank kidnapping" is one of those concepts so inherently alarm-triggering, one fully expects the phrase to be followed by "gone wrong" - which indeed is the case in "Take the Night," a first feature for writer-director-producer-star Seth McTigue. This solid little thriller does a good job balancing character drama and suspense elements, its smooth craftsmanship belying the creator's newbie status in multiple creative roles. Saban Films is opening the film on seven U. S. screens July 8, though it's more likely to find its audience via release to digital and on demand platforms on July 12.

A prologue introduces Robert Chang (Sami Li), a serious-minded youth who's the new CEO of multinational corporation Chang Import following his father's death. That promotion is a notable sore spot for older brother William (Roy Huang), who was pointedly passed over - and one can see why, since he's bratty and irresponsible, as well as resentful. Thus we immediately suspect this sibling rivalry is at play when Robert gets roughly abducted by masked men as he walks to his car in the parking garage after work one night.
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8/10
A great action movie
sebmontes25 August 2022
The plot of the movie is very good, I loved the script of the characters, I think it's a good movie to watch on a Thursday afternoon with friends and enjoy.
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9/10
best drama
mdibrahimamin25 August 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Best drama i ever seen, not necessarily a heist thriller. Lot's of emotional weight many of the characters carry with them. Overall well done and a fairly tight 90 minutes.

I enjoyed the writer was able to voice characters that truly felt separate/distinct from each other.
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