The Tax Collector Movie Review

The Tax Collector (2020)

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Written by: David Ayer
Directed by: David Ayer
Starring: Bobby Soto, Cinthya Carmona, Shia LaBeouf, George Lopez, Jose Conejo Martin
Rated: NR [R]
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Plot
A "tax collector" working for a local crime lord finds his family's safety compromised when the rival of his boss shows up in L.A. and upends the business.

Verdict
This makes some interesting choices. The first question is whether LaBeouf is playing a Hispanic character or a white character. I had to stop the movie and Google that. The core of this movie centers on two crime lords battling for territory, but this gets into human sacrifice which is absolutely bewildering in the moment and after I finished this movie. Those were the standout things about the movie, and now you don't even need to watch it.
Skip it.

Review
This starts with exposition about Creeper (Shia LeBeouf), a rather intense enforcer who always wears sunglasses no matter the place or time and is described as the devil due to his heinous crimes. The character comes off as a bit of a cartoon which how over the top the cutaways to his crimes are. This movie really likes cutaways, often during an intense scene which completely ruins the moment. Creeper threatens someone with a drill just for coughing so we know he's completely crazy. If you wonder why Creeper's ears look swollen, it's cauliflower ear. It's an injury fighters typically get from being hit in the ear where the blood doesn't drain and creates permanent swelling. This indicates Creeper is fighter.

Bobby Soto and Shia LeBeouf play David and Creeper

At this point a big question is whether LeBeouf is playing a white or Hispanic character. His look and speech fit the stereotypical Hispanic character that would be in a movie like this. The director was adamant the character is white and grew up with the culture. If that's true, the movie should have addressed it with Creeper's best friend David (Bobby Soto) mentioning it. That kind of teasing fits with their dynamic. Creeper does seem like a bit of an outsider at times, but that also could be due to this movie telling us how unhinged he is.

I expected this movie to be about two enforcers and their adventure over a day of collecting payoffs for their boss. This devolves into a fight between two drug cartel heads. There's a fair amount of boring exposition.

Shia LeBeouf and Bobby Soto play Creeper and David

At one point David who is devoutly religious argues about God with Creeper. I thought this might be some kind of good versus evil allegory as David ends up fighting rival dealer Conejo (Jose Conejo Martin) that is the antagonist of the movie. If that was the intention, it didn't land. The plane took off in this scene and was never seen again.

Conejo is supposed to be dangerous. I found it strange when we get a scene with him sacrificing a chicken to some strange shrine. That was only the start. There's human sacrifice. I wish the movie, if it's going to introduce it, did more with it. Explore this allegory further. Instead this scene is just for shock value.

If you wondered whether we'd get a fight scene between Creeper and Conejo, the two unhinged characters linked to the devil, the answer is no. That was a huge disappointment. This movie built up Creeper and we get nothing from that. Creeper is easily the most interesting character, but this movie mishandles almost everything about him. This should have centered on Creeper and a day in the life of collecting payments for the cartel.

This movie makes so many strange choices. At one point David is digging up a barrel full of cash and we get a cutaway of him getting a snack. I just don't know why. The final showdown has rival gangsters helping David. The movie did a poor job of setting that up, and it even had a scene where we could have seen this guy before just to establish they are rivals but friendly. Instead the gangster agrees to go on a suicide mission because "he's a good guy."

This can be a bit gross, just for shock value. There are also a lot of closeup shots and way too many cutaway shots. The movie continues to drag out instead of just ending. The moment you decide you don't like this, it's not going to get any better.