The Tax Collector ★★½

THROUGHOUT The Tax Collector I kept asking myself the same question…why is Shia LaBeouf in this film?

While he was born in California, I’m pretty certain he isn’t from Hispanic heritage so why is he part of the cast of this action thriller.

LaBeouf doesn’t give a bad performance, but he isn’t great either, especially compared to Bobby Soto playing the lead.

But his Caucasian looks and forced accent constantly detract from writer/director David Ayer’s attempt to recreate the success of his previous LA-set crime dramas Training Days, End of Watch and Harsh Times.

Ayer used LaBeouf in his cast for the under-rated 2014 World War II drama Fury. There is no doubt he’s a good actor in certain roles. but here it’s a mis-step.

He plays an enforcer nicknamed ‘Creeper’, which is also a name that doesn’t even sound Hispanic.

Creeper is a childhood friend of Soto’s character, David Cuevas, who is a senior leader of a crime gang run by a character named The Wizard.

David and his wife Alexis are responsible for ensuring a large number of drug dealers are paying their share to the over-arching gang. Alexis does the books and David, with the aid of the menacing Creeper, collects the money from any potential recalcitrants.

But the arrangements, their grip on power and the well-being of their entire family is thrown into chaos when a ruthless rival moves on their territory.

From this point the film moves quickly from being a fairly interesting study of a crime family and David’s character in particular, to a blood-drenched action film that, while exciting at times, doesn’t fit neatly together.