It’s kind of hard not to like <i>The Losers</i>, despite the forced humour, mediocre special effects, and poorly edited action sequences, it’s got an infectious energy that’s hard to dismiss. Part of that energy is probably due to the insanely likable cast, and the other part is probably due to the bright comic-inspired colour scheme that permeates the entire movie. It’s not a deep movie by any standards, but its aided by an awareness of its limitations. I can’t bring myself to recommend the movie, but there are far worse ways to spend the first weekend of the summer.
The movie (which hops all over the world before it finishes) begins in Bolivia, where our team of military experts saves the lives of 25 children from an American air strike ordered by the mysterious “Max”. When the helicopter taking the children to safety is destroyed by another aircraft, the team of “losers” throw their dog tags into the wreckage, realizing that it was meant for them. And thus, they plan their revenge on Max, who is portrayed as one the most hyperbolically evil megalomaniacs to hit movie screens by Jason Patric. Does it make sense that the team (correctly) assume Max is a CIA agent? Probably not, but don’t think about it too deeply. It’s probably more drawn out in the graphic novels the film was based on.
As I mentioned before, one of the main charms of the movie is the cast. The team is made up of Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Roque (Idris Elba), Jensen (Chris Evans), Cougar (Oscar Jaenada), and Pooch (Columbus Short). Morgan does well as the charismatic leader of the group, and despite being in his mid-40′s, could go on to become a movie star anyways. Elba does well as his main opposition in the group. Evans makes a lot of the comedic material work, wven though it really shouldn’t, as the annoying motormouth tech nerd, Columbus Short is suitably charismatic for the least characterized member of the ensemble (or “the guy with a pregnant wife at home”). Jaenada is the only weak spot, but he has very few lines, so it doesn’t really matter all that much. They are joined in Bolivia by Aisha (Zoe Saldana), who introduces herself to Clay in a violent meet-cute that, again, makes little story sense, but is kind of fun to watch, and offers them the information they need to find Max. I should also note that Patric is great as Max, whether he’s explaining to his henchman the difference between a “break this guy’s fingers” nod of the head and a “throw this guy off the building” nod of the head, or bathing in a hot springs with a number of exotically clad women, which, again, has nothing to do with the story.
But the game actors can’t make up for the script by James Vanderbilt and Peter Berg (the team behind The Rundown), which unwisely attempts to force the chemistry out of the characters. This method unfortunately results in a lot of hit-or-miss jokes and one-liners, and a feeling that the movie is trying way to hard to get you to like it. It’s a shame, screenwriters should have relied on the cast to create appealing character moments, rather than on forced moments of “cleverness”. Director Sylvain White (You Got Served) shows promise. The goofy colour-scheme of the movie is endearing, and the more the film plays with comic book conventions, the better. But his weakness is in the action scenes, which adopt the unfortunate approach of using handheld cameras and editing way too quickly. Granted, unlike a lot of contemporary action films, you can actually tell what’s going on in this one, but it’s still disappointing to see a movie as visually interesting as The Losers go for the crappiest method of shooting an action scene.
As for the story itself, it’s nothing impressive. You can see the inevitable twist from a mile away, and the usual twists and turns of plot are used. In fact, the quality of the story is a bit like the quality of the movie itself, it’s decent if your expectations are suitably low. In other words, it ain’t much, but for what it is, it ain’t terrible.
-Alan Jones
