Review: THE TAX COLLECTOR From Director David Ayer Available to Watch Today

Writer and director David Ayer’s latest film, The Tax Collector, is a film with a familiar feel, a movie that takes place on the streets of Los Angeles, like his other memorable scripts, Training Day and End of Watch. But this is his first film to be completed and released amid a pandemic, and the results are different from his typical tried and true stories.

The Tax Collector stars Bobby Soto (Narcos: Mexico, The Quarry) as David, a tax collector for high ranking Los Angeles gang members, who makes his rounds accompanied by his friend and enforcer, Creeper, played by Shia LaBeouf. Things get disrupted when a new player comes to LA to take over the area that David rules, and David’s life and everything he loves are threatened.

The movie felt familiar in both good and bad ways. I grew up just outside of Los Angeles, so I like movies that take place on the streets and freeways I know. This is part of what drew me in when watching Ayer’s other LA-based movies. The food, the people, the backdrop all feel real and true, and I thought this was well done. However, the movie also felt like something I had seen before. It’s the age-old male-centric turf war story about men puffing up their chests to assert their dominance. It would have mattered more if I had been able to connect to the character David. He was a bossy, insecure man who the film tried to humanize by giving him a family and familial obligations. But because David never seemed genuinely invested in that aspect of himself, I didn’t care about his family, or him, as a result.

I did like LaBeouf’s portrayal of Creeper, as I felt the character’s loyalty, his serious ties to his “job,” and his quirks as a human being were well thought out and made him feel like a very real person.

I had to wonder, as I watched the intro to the film, and the way it played out, if the pandemic played a part in how it turned out. The movie was shot pre-pandemic, but I assume was finished in post during the shutdown. The intro to the film felt very amateur, and the story, though predictable and easy to follow, felt disjointed. I wished I was watching an Ayer film more like the ones I’ve loved in the past, but this just missed the mark.

The Tax Collector is available today in select theaters, On Digital, and On Demand.