The Losers

The Losers isn't a movie I can recommend outright as a really fantastic example of its genre, far from it. It has some logical gaps, especially towards its ending with the character resolutions (or lack thereof), and the use of slow-motion in the action scenes already dates it to an extent by its 'Hipness'. But it's also got just the right attitude, humor and energy to get by as what I might call a 'Saturday afternoon' quickie. This is the kind of flick that a guy would watch when he should be doing something else around the house or something. It's tough and unapologetic and a little too slick to be anything else than what it is. I enjoyed The Losers against my better judgment.

The premise and follow-through is kind of predictable, as it's about a group of elite fighters (think the A-Team) who get double-crossed by a rogue CIA agent and find a possible entry point with a mysterious woman to get back at him and clear their names. We see who will probably betray who, or what twists might occur, and sure the BIG WEAPON (in caps) that is used by Max (played with a cartoon character debonair by Jason Patric) is so preposterous as to be wholly entertaining. But the cast is up for playing these parts with every ounce of fun and excitement in the material, and I liked seeing the camaraderie between Morgan, Evans and Elba (the latter really coming into his own as a star), and Zoe Saldana shows off again how she's becoming a formidable talent in Hollywood films.

It's a hard movie to always defend for its plot inconsistencies, but it works in its own lets-just-play-it-loose logic. And sometimes the actors just cut loose, which is nice; seeing Chris Evans somehow inject life into using 'Don't Stop Believing' by Journey in an espionage scene is one of the most brilliant things of the year (if only because, simply, how could you use that song again after the Sopranos). And when it comes time for the BIG action set-piece at the end, it gives a good dose of what action movie fans look for: plausible implausibility, some gritty violence (albeit PG-13, it's still pretty intense), and a few real surprises in the course of events, for better and worse. I can't stress enough that it's not a particularly high achievement in its sort of movie. But for what it sets out to achieve, it does alright, which is enough sometimes.

Well I don't know much to like about this movie. But at the same time there's nothing to hate here. Not even some stilted dialogue or the watered-down violence. The film moves in an almost self-parodying way, as if it was aware that it was what it was, a slick, glossy, action- packed, and fun thrill ride from start to finish.

The film is based on a comic book, and the story seems to prepare us for the upcoming "The A-Team" adaptation (which I'm looking forward to). It's filled with guns, girls, cars, explosions, fists, legs, knives, motorcycles, in fact almost anything but the kitchen sink. The actors seem to be having fun in their roles as the chemistry between the six leads show, but Jason Patric looks like he's having a terrific time, chewing every scene he's in and giving us what may be the funniest (although sometimes annoying) villain in years.

The film has it's action packed moments and plenty of laugh-out loud moments, but that's about what you can expect from a movie like this. Don't expect anything like "Shutter Island" or "Slumdog Millionaire" and you'll do just fine. Having said that, director Sylvain White keeps the pace tight and frenetic, and you can see some of his camera movements are similar to his previous film "Stomp The Yard", also starring Columbus Short.

So in short it's a time waster, but a not bad one. Sure it may be watered down for teens, but at heart it is what it is, big, loud, goofy, hilarious fun.

Overall rating: A solid 6/10.

Hadn't heard of it and knew even less about it when I saw The Losers and I just had a blast! It was a movie for guys who like movies with its mean action and a constant humorous undertone that stays in stride with the tempo of the film. It was hot chix, cool tricks, and explosives throughout.

I didn't dig the slow-mo too much, though. That John Woo stuff just rubs me the wrong way and I find it so pretentiously distracting! ugh.

But beyond that... if you want an entertaining "don't need to think about it flick", The Losers generously provides. If you're looking for something to stick with you to puzzle upon or stimulate you intellectually, search elsewhere.

Well don't know how i didn't knew about this movie that come out 10y ago, and i found out about it today.

Good action movie, fun and entertaining , and what else do you need from it. It had also very good music in background, some nice hard songs,

Also very nice bunch of actors, i mean Saldana should be enough but thrs Elba too, so all in all it was good discovery for me to find this today when we lack a good movies in 2020 n 21

Though slightly juvenile for an action film, (hence the PG-13 rating) The Losers has wit, and that counts for something. The clichés are all there; the distraught hero, the girl with the gun, the dapper villain eager to get his hands on nuclear weapons, the geeky tech nerd, the bad-guy cops. The Losers frequently plays all this for laughs, it has a great sense of humour without which the film would be epically cheesy. There are some familiar faces in the cast, along with some new ones, and everyone seems to be having a good time, which helps us to have a good time.

If I had to guess, I'd say it'd be Zoe Saldana which the studio values most for selling the product, which is kind of degrading. She may well be on the road to the Typecast city, until James Cameron gets Avatar 2 going. At least she can do her own stunts, something Megan Fox is probably incapable of. The best performance in the movie though is turned in by Jason Patric oddly enough, whose take on the clichéd super villain ready to wreak havoc with the push of a button, is perfect. There is no way anyone could take such a character seriously no why not goof it up a bit. The year is young but this guy is the Col. Hans Landa of 2010. Sometimes, the Losers doesn't work so good. At times it is just a little too unbelievable, especially the interplay between Saldana and Morgan, which is just gratuitous.

So for an early blockbuster, The Losers delivers about what you'd expect. Though there is nothing super special about it, the movie has some tricks up its sleeve which might be worth checking out.