Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.0

The Tax Collector 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Shia got tattooed for THIS?

Reviewed by Randy Miller III October 13, 2020

No stranger to intense gang dramas, writer/director David Ayer returns with The Tax Collector, a willy uneven but viscerally potent production with an abbreviated supporting performance by Shia LaBeouf. Like Dark Blue and Harsh Times, it feels gritty and authentic enough but never even reaches those modest heights, struggling to impress with a connect-the-dots plot that's rife with clichés, narrative shortcuts, and one of the most laughably over-the-top bad guys in recent memory. Yet The Tax Collector speeds along quickly enough and is perhaps inoffensively passable for the right audience, many of whom will lap up its graphic bloodshed and base-level dramatic thrills.

The story mostly follows David Cuevas (Bobby Soto), an intensely religious man who puts family first...at least when he's not "collecting taxes" for gang boss Wizard (Jimmy Smits) with his health-obsessed loose cannon of a partner, Creeper (Shia LaBeouf). Standard mob rules apply here: the dynamic duo skims off of what local gangs make for their own shady activity, and David's wife Alexis (Cinthya Carmona) is in on it too. When their most recent collection comes up $20,000 short, David and Creeper are confronted by Wizard's gang rival Conejo (Jose Martin), a major power with connections to a Mexican drug cartel and serious delusions of grandeur. Once David refuses to literally kiss Conejo's rings, things get ugly fast and it's not long before his wife and daughters are caught in the crossfire.

Although it has the potential to spin a complex narrative web, The Tax Collector falls way short of its goal and plays out more like a rough draft in need of some serious fine-tuning. The occasional bad lines of dialogue could be forgiven but these are deeply overshadowed by a wildly uneven tone that even flirts with human sacrifices and the occult that, when paired with David's particular religious views and bloodshed, make large portions of The Tax Collector awfully hard to stomach. When it's not distasteful it's just painfully generic, the kind of testosterone-fueled revenge flick that doesn't really need to be made anymore, or for at least a while. We've got more than enough of those, thanks.

I'd go on, but our own Brian Orndorf penned an even better takedown of the film in his theatrical review. And while I found a few redeeming qualities to elevate it above "worst of the worst" territory (namely Shia LaBeouf's magnetic but sadly abbreviated presence, as well as a few nicely-staged action sequences in the home stretch), it's impossible to get through The Tax Collector without noticing its flaws, from the script to performances that range from bland (Bobby Soto) to amateur (Cinthya Carmona) and downright awful (Jose "Conejo" Martin, who really is that bad).

RLJ Entertainment offers The Tax Collector in two different flavors: a standard Blu-ray and this 4K/Blu-ray Steelbook which, for now, is exclusive to Best Buy both in-store and online. While I obviously wouldn't recommend either version as a bulletproof blind buy, if you're looking to purchase the choice shouldnt be very difficult.

The Tax Collector 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, The Tax Collector mostly impresses on this strong and stable 4K transfer. Although it does not include HDR enhancement, the color palette is rendered nicely and features very good saturation with no obvious signs of bleeding. Fine detail and contrast levels look great too, especially in close-up, while wide and establishing shots are very impressive and showcase the stunning/seedy locales with more than enough clarity. The Tax Collector appears to be an all-digital production although some artificial grain has been added, with daytime scenes and darkened interiors looking consistent with no glaring noise. As a whole this is a very fine effort; the disc is authored perfectly and the film is afforded a high bit rate from start to finish.

For my thoughts on the included Blu-ray's 1080p transfer, please see my review of that separate release.

The Tax Collector 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix features crisp dialogue and a strong dynamic range, treating quiet conversations and action sequences with equal care. Gunfire and explosions pack a reasonably hefty punch, as does Michael Yezerski's original score. Most of the film plays it straight with channel separation and atmosphere, although at least one late sequence aims for a more stylized atmosphere with stronger resonance that's suitably disorienting. Optional subtitles are helpfully included in three flavors: English for only Spanish dialogue, Spanish for only English dialogue, and English for everything (including some sign language, which is actually kind of important to the plot.)

The Tax Collector 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

On-disc extras are very minimal, with most of this release's points going toward the exclusive packaging.

• Deleted Scenes (12:21) - "Extended Opening", "Tax Collection Threat", and "Chat with Sensei". All three are presented in 1080p and DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio but, unlike the film, have no optional subtitles.

• Steelbook Packaging - Featuring better design elements than the standard Blu-ray, this slightly glossy (but fingerprint-resistant) Steelbook is a quality packaging job. Its front cover is near-identical but has tweaked colors and also adds Conejo and a henchman near the bottom. (That buxom beauty might sell a few copies, but she's in the movie for less than five minutes and never once picks up a gun.) The back features decorative text with David's "family first" motto and the inside reveals a two-panel image of Conejo in his prayer room or whatever. Both the 4K and Blu-ray discs are overlapped on the right side, as seen in the final screenshot.

The Tax Collector 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Though not without a few memorable moments, David Ayer's The Tax Collector is a hot mess -- even those attracted to its bloodshed and base-level thrills will notice problems along the way. Several years past its shelf life, it's the kind of testosterone-fueled movie Ayer should have outgrown by now... but hopefully will in the near future. RLJ's 4K/Blu-ray is exclusive to Best Buy until December and, though certainly not worth tracking down on the main feature's merit, is recommended over the standard Blu-ray for its superior (though non-HDR) transfer and Steelbook packaging.