The Losers (Sylvain White) 2010

A lot of people seem to be remarking that the Losers is an attempt to cash in on the A-Team or that its A-Team lite.  I personally am looking forward more to The Expendables but no matter.  This is apparently based on a comic that yet again I have not read.  That seems to be a general motif for these reviews.  If it isn’t Superman, Batman, or Sandman Mystery Theater (look it up) it is a good chance I haven’t read it.  Not that it seems to matter in this case.  Not even people who have read the Losers comic seems to have been all that enthusiastic of it being made.

The story is about a group of soldiers assigned to take out a drug cartel.  When they don’t follow orders (to save some kids) a CIA big wig only known as Max (Jason Patric) tries to kill them.  The Losers have no way to find Max until the mysterious Aiysha (Zoe Saldana) comes to them with intel on how to kill him.

The story is typical action movie fare.  The team gets betrayed, the go on a mission of revenge, they have to get MacGuffin X before killing Y yada yada yada.  Nothing we haven’t seen before, but then again, nothing too bad as to screw up the movie.  The story does just enough to showcase the action and the stars and not to be too much of a burden on credibility.  Although if there is one thing that is stupid, its that the main villain is after some quantum string theory multiple dimension piece of Star Trek technobabble bullshit that really seems out of place in a movie about killing people and Zoe Saldana in her underwear.  Is it too much to ask that Max is after a nuke or something?

The acting is what really carries it for me.  Chris Evans is usually the annoying comic relief but I have to admit that here he is pretty entertaining.  His scenes (especially during a scene of Don’t Stop Believin) is a breath of fresh air in a movie a little too bogged down at times with intrigue.  Jeffery Dean Morgan (The Comedian in Watchmen) is really a charming leading man.  He has a lot of natural charisma and makes his material probably a lot better than it deserves to be.  I also found the very underrated Jason Patric to be fun in this movie too.  Some have commented that he is too over the top, but when you go in expecting this movie to be goofy cornball action then I don’t think its that bad.  I found him entertaining at least.

The action is alright but at times you see a bit of the director’s incompetence shine through.  Hand to hand fight scenes are up way too close and the cutting is too spastic.  Losers drags a bit in the middle as we seemingly have scene after scene of Clay telling his troops “This is a suicide mission.  If you want to leave I’ll understand” followed by everyone having a group hug.  Once is cliche enough, any more is crap writing.  Oh, and the movie has the massive balls to make the ending a set up for a sequel.  Which, looking at the box office right now, doesn’t look like that will happen anytime soon.

Overall this is an alright movie.  If you check this movie out on a slow day or rent it down the road I don’t think you will have wasted your money.  For what it is it is mildly entertaining.  There is nothing there that will make this movie memorable a year down the road but it is a fair time waster.  I know, this is such a glowing review.