The Losers (2010)
The Losers is the big screen adaptation of the comic book with the same title. InThe Losers we follow Clay and four of his elite soldiers as they seek justice for the deaths of 25 innocent children, when it should have been them that were meant killed instead. Only going off of the mysterious voice named Max as their only clue, The Losers are met by an untrustworthy female on their quest to clear their name of the 25 innocents deaths.
The Losers is seemingly the first in a line of films scheduled to come out this summer under the idea of a bad ass military unit is plotted against and **** so they have to clear their names of the things they were said to have done. Oh and, save the day. Dont believe me? Watch the trailer for The A-Team and The Expendables. The Losers a fun action-adventure movie with a pretty decent cast under its belt, but sadly is drawn down by the terrible plot, villain and twists.
You can read the rest of my review for The Losers after the jump.
Im going to break down each character and the actor playing the character, then follow through with an overall review of the film.
Clay (played by Jeffery Dean Morgan) is the leader of The Losers and probably the most motivated out of the group to get revenge on Max, which Morgan makes believable in the film. I first watched Jeffery Dean Morgan in Watchmen and was very impressed with him in the film, ending up being my favorite part of the movie - save the Dr. Manhattan origins. In The Losers Morgan gives a pretty believable commanding presense in some scene, but in others he leaves you thinking dude, youre an idiot (implying Im a better special ops leader than him is in by no means my intentions) and it really baffles me on some of the actions he takes throughout the movie.
Rouge (played by Idris Elba) is the second-in-command to Clay and probably someone Id rather follow into battle than Clay, simply due to him being a more grounded and realistic character. While Clay bum rushes jobs, Rouge is always there to remind him of how much an idiot he can be at times. Idris Elba is a newcomer into films for me, this is the first movie Ive seen of his but I have however seen him in NBCs The Office, but I really dont think that counts. Elba gave off an overall better presence than Morgan. Im excited to see him in Marvel Studios Thor which will be released in May of 2011.
Jensen (played by Chris Evans) is the tech wizard of The Losers. Basically a brilliant smartass, Evans steals the show as Jensen and doesnt give it back. Jensen really doesnt question whats going on, what needs to be done. He just knows he can get in there and do it, and do it quickly. Chris Evans already gave us his taste of being a smart ass in Foxs Fantastic Four movies, playing The Human Tourch and was the best part of the movies. The most memorable scene in The Losers is actually a scene with Jensen and Dont Stop Believing by Journey playing. Already excited to see Chris Evans in Marvel Studios Captain America, I wont lie when I say I only saw this movie for him.
Cougar (played by Oscar Jaenada) is the marksmen in The Losers. As a man of little or no words, hed rather sit back and pop heads off from a building than be up in the action. Cougar is a pretty decent character in and has some pretty cool moments in the movie (ironically, he shares the same Dont Stop Believeingscene with Jensen) and it wasnt really forced on us that he was that way in the movie. Ive never heard of Jaenada before The Losers and while I wasnt very impressed with him (mostly because he didnt do anything but snipe dudes), I thought he portrayed Cougar well enough in the movie.
Pooch (played by Columbus Short) is the wingman in The Losers. Hes the guy that can drive or pilot anything if it has gas in it. Pooch is the loudmouth free-thinker of the group, hell put you in your place verbally than move you to safety all within the blink of an eye. Pooch really isnt motivated to get back at Max and threatens to leave the group and head home to his wife, who is expecting his baby. I only remember Columbus Short from 2008s first-person-shoot-esque filmQuarantine and I really only remember him faintly. I really didnt like him in The Losers because he kept making your momma jokes, as if theyre the cool/funny thing to do.
Aisha (played by Zoe Saldana) is the myesterious woman that contacts The Losers in the beginning of the movie, shes deadly with a weapon and out for revenge against Max, the same person that The Losers are after. Being the myesterious female character, eventually her true intentions are revealed she saves The Losers after things get bad for them while on the trail of Max. Now Ive only seen Saldana in 2008s Star Trek (Avatar doesnt count, thats a computer figure, not the goddamn human being!) where I really enjoyed her in. I really didnt care for her in this movie, her character just felt there; sure she was a HUGE important character in the end, but I found myself not caring about her or her character arc. I wasnt surprised when the twist came around in the movie.
Max (played by Jason Patric) is the villain of the movie, the guy that started everything The Losers were up against. Hes a multi-millionare genius which like all millionares, hes out for more money. Sure he says his intentions for his actions are to bring order to the world, but hes just in it for the money. Hes a ruthless killer that would shoot anyone, for anything. He shoots a woman for not being able to hold an umbrella during a big gust of wind right? Terrifying, yes? No. Bland and boring. This was just an all around completely terrible character and I didnt care whither he lived or die, although Id wish he died so that terrible excuse for a villain and be whipped off the face of this beautiful floating blue ball. It must be Patrics portrayal of Max in the movie, because nothing about this character is good, his lines are just terrible and he tries so hard to be extreme, he comes off as dull and well, pointless.
Overall: The Losers is a fun action-adventure with a few funny moments and some top-notch action scenes. Having a decent cast is also what kind of saves this film. Jeffery Dean Morgan and Chris Evans are the only two real positives out of the cast, but Chris Evans steals the show and makes the movie from somewhat funny to downright hilarious in some scenes. The action itself isnt as great as I had hoped itd be, but its still pretty decent for a small budget film like this one. While a terribly overused plot and plot twists, The Losers is a fun movie that you should at least watch once if you happen to come across it, with that all said, Ill giveThe Losers a 6/10. While not the best movie this year, its still got plenty of laughs and good action for anyone to enjoy.