Based on its title, one might expect 2020’s The Tax Collector to offer a comedy about some buttoned-down IRS agent who goes on wacky misadventures. Instead, it provides a crime drama about enforcers who work for a drug lord.

Under the direction of kingpin “Wizard” (Jimmy Smits), David (Bobby Soto) and Creeper (Shia LaBeouf) act as “tax collectors”. This means they hit up local gangs for Wizard’s cut of their ill-gotten narcotics sales.

However, Wizard’s business goes awry when he deals with Mexican rivals led by Conejo (Jose Conejo Martin). This creates a threat that involves David’s family, and he fights to protect them.

Essentially since cinema came into existence, we’ve gotten tales of gangsters and their shenanigans. Should you expect anything new from Collector? Nope, as it presents a fairly predictable and banal take on the genre.

Much of the problem comes from our lead, as David creates a dull protagonist. Sure, the film attempts to make him vaguely three-dimensional, mainly via his depiction as a “thug with a heart”.

Most of that attitude conveys via his protective nature, as he values his wife Alexis (Cinthya Carmona) and two kids over all else. We also see his softer side when he lets an embezzling gang member off the hook because the guy needs the money for his sick daughter.

However, these notions exist in plenty of other genre flicks, and Collector doesn’t bring enough personality to David to allow these notions to prosper. The film occasionally hints at other facets to his character, but it cuts these off before they can go anywhere.

For instance, David takes martial arts lessons as a form of therapy, and he also reacts poorly when Alexis admits that she initially seduced him because she hoped the burgeoning gang-banger would kill her abusive father. Unfortunately, Collector lets these potentially intriguing notions wither on the vine, so ultimately they feel like vague windowdressing and nothing more.

Honestly, Collector would become a more interesting movie if it made Creeper the lead. Not only does LaBeouf present a considerably more vivid screen persona than the one-dimensional Soto, but also Creeper simply seems like a more compelling role.

Sure, Collector paints Creeper in a semi-cartoonish light, as he presents more of a stereotypical cold-blooded “enforcer”. Still, Creeper demonstrates much more personality than the dishwater dull David, and as noted, LaBeouf offers a superior performance. Even with the limitations of Creeper as scripted, LaBeouf forms an engaging character.

I don’t want to paint Collector as a bad movie, for it keeps us with it across its 95 minutes, However, it simply fails to create a tale that brings us anything new or creative, so it fails to form into an especially strong piece.

The Tax Collector appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.85:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. Overall, this was a positive image.

Only a smidgen of softness ever cropped up here, mainly in some low-light shots. Otherwise, the movie showed nice clarity and delineation.

Jagged edges and moiré effects failed to appear, and edge haloes remained absent. Print flaws also stayed away from this clean image.

In terms of palette, Collector went with mix of teal and amber. The hues were fine for their visual choices.

Blacks showed good depth, while low-light shots boasted nice clarity. This was a solid “B+“ presentation.

As for the film’s DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack, it gave us appealing sonics most of the time as well as a little pep on occasion. A drama like this didn’t need to boast a rock-em, sock-em mix, so the audio seemed acceptable.

Usually, the soundfield didn’t have a lot to do. This meant it concentrated on good stereo music and general ambience.

Every once in a while, though, the mix came to life – in a moderate manner, at least, usually related to gang violence. These moments didn’t dazzle, but they gave the mix reasonable breadth.

Audio quality was fine. Speech seemed natural and concise, without edginess or other concerns. Music appeared full, with reasonable definition.

Effects remained clear and accurate, with some pretty solid low-end response during louder moments. This became a fairly satisfying track.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray version? Audio remained identical, as both sported the same DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack.

Visuals seemed fairly comparable as well, mainly because the 4K lacked HDR. With an SDR presentation, the 4K failed to take advantage of the format’s strengths as well as I’d like.

This meant colors, contrast and blacks looked comparable for both. I thought the 4K offered slightly stronger definition, but even that didn’t become a prominent upgrade. Of the two, the 4K worked a little better, but it showed less growth than expected for the format.

Three Deleted Scenes appear: “Extended Opening” (6:02), “Tax Collection Threat” (4:49) and “Chat With Sensei” (1:31). All three add a little to existing sequences, but none of them add anything memorable or significant.

The disc opens with ads for Mandy and Into the Ashes. No trailer for Collector appears here.

A second disc provides a Blu-ray copy of Collector. It includes the same extras as the 4K UHD.

In the crowded gangster genre, The Tax Collector fails to form its own niche. While a perfectly watchable tale, the movie never rises to a level that makes it truly compelling. The 4K UHD brings positive picture and audio with a few deleted scenes. This ends up as a mediocre movie.

To rate this film, visit the prior review of TAX COLLECTOR