Review: The Losers
Adapted from the Vertigo comic by the same name, action flick The Losers is a tale of betrayal, deception and revenge. At the center of the plot is an elite black ops U.S. Special Forces team, which tackles search-and-destroy missions across the globe. Things get complicated when a mission into the Bolivian jungle becomes a double-cross, and the team is left stranded in the jungle, presumed dead. All this takes place in the opening credits, and the remaining 80-plus minutes of action, directed by Sylvain White, follow the team as they track down the enemy that betrayed them.
The central characters in The Losers are the Special Forces team members, including "Colonel" Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), tech guy Jensen (Chris Evans), tactical Roque (Idris Elba), driver Pooch (Columbus Short), and sharpshooter Cougar (Óscar Jaenada). The group must first focus their efforts on getting out of Bolivia and back into the U.S. to track down Max (Jason Patric), the ruthless rogue CIA agent who is intent on starting a high-tech global conflict.
Lucky for the team, there's another person intent on locating and killing Max -- the mysterious and "explosive" operative Aisha (Zoe Saldana). Aisha helps the undercover team make their way back in and across the U.S. on their latest and deadliest mission. Max has his own mercenaries guarding him at all times, making it even more difficult for the team to exact their revenge.
If it weren't for his killer instincts displayed through senseless killings, Max comes off as a distant cousin to Dr. Evil with his satirical world domination plans. The weapon of mass destruction du jour? The "snuke," a sonic dematerializer, which every green terrorist should own -- no muss, no fuss.
The plot is true to The Losers' comic book origins with choppy imagery, slo-mo shots, and mindless stock action scenes. I found it easy to evoke the "suspension of disbelief" within minutes of the opening scenes, but that acceptance still didn't make The Losers a strong action film. The cliches detract from the movie's few strengths.
The highlights of The Losers comes from the ensemble cast, most notably Evans as Jensen and Short as Pooch. A scene where Jensen has to make his way into Max's well-secured offices to locate a special algorithm is probably the funniest moment of the film, particularly the use of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'." There's good chemistry between the cast, but individually I found the characters to be no more than stereotypical comic-book caricatures.
Fans of Gone in Sixty Seconds and The Fast and the Furious might enjoy the boilerplate action scenes and explosive mayhem. However, I would recommend saving time and money by waiting until The Losers hits late night cable programming. Better yet, just watch late night reruns of The A-Team for the real deal.