Post by Derrick on May 2, 2010 22:01:36 GMT -5
THE LOSERS
2010
Warner Bros./Dark Castle Entertainment
Directed by Sylvain White
Produced by Joel Silver and Akiva Goldsman
Written by Peter Berg and James Vanderbilt
Based on the comic book created by Andy Diggle and Jock
It wasn’t too long ago I was having a discussion with somebody where I lamented that there’s a sub-genre of the action adventure film that just doesn’t get made anymore. If you’ve ever seen “The Professionals” “Kelly’s Heroes” “The Wild Bunch” or “The Wrath of God” then you’re familiar with the conventions of this sub-genre. A group of outlaws/mercenaries/rogues are forced to accept a suicide mission that finds them up against overwhelming odds. There’s usually a whole lot of money at stake but more often than not, the group ends up fighting for their honor and justice.
As my wife Patricia has been telling me for years, I have a bad habit of talking before thinking because this summer is going to be chock full of this type of movie. We’ve got “The A-Team” “Takers” and “The Expendables” to look forward to but I can’t think of a better way to kick off this wave of he-man action-adventure than THE LOSERS which is amazing in its own stubborn refusal to take itself very seriously and give us exactly what the trailers promised. Tough guys being tough, stuff blowing up every five minutes and shootouts to keep us interested until the next big explosion.
We’re introduced to The Losers while they’re on a mission in Bolivia to take down a drug lord. The Losers are a Special Forces team of covert operatives led by Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and he’s backed up by Jensen (Chris Evans) computer expert/hacker. Roque (Idris Elba) who has a special affinity for bladed weapons. Cougar (Oscar Jaenada) sniper extraordinare and Pooch (Columbus Short) who can pilot anything that flies, floats or rolls. The mission quickly goes south as there are children in the drug lord’s compound and The Losers cannot call off the air strike on the compound due to the interference of the mysterious “Max” (Jason Patric). In the furious battle that follows, the children are killed in place of the team and The Losers themselves elect to pretend they’re dead in order to find out who Max is, why he wanted them dead and to avenge the children.
And I’m actually not giving away much with that short plot synopsis because all that happens in the first ten minutes or so of the movie. But don’t worry, there’s still a lot more story to go. Especially when the mysterious and beautiful Aisha (Zoe Saldana) who also wants Max dead. She hooks up with The Losers, bankrolling their operation and proving herself to be just as dangerous and deadly in the field when it comes to taking out the bad guys.
The action in this one is outrageous what with a major shootout and explosions right in the middle of downtown Miami that I have no idea at all how they filmed. I would have preferred the hand-to-hand fights not be so choppily edited but I was having so much fun, after awhile I said, ‘the hell with it’ and just rolled with it. One of the things I liked a lot about THE LOSERS that here’s a movie that doesn’t feel the need to explain every single detail right away. And if you’re paying attention you’ll get those plot points. This is a movie that moves at high speed and you simply have to hang on and enjoy the ride.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a movie where I’ve enjoyed all the performances the way I enjoyed them in THE LOSERS. Jeffrey Dean Morgan can have the career as a new action hero that Gerard Butler could have had. If Mr. Butler wasn’t more interested in making brain dead romantic comedies, that is. Jeffrey Dean Morgan just seems so at ease and at home with this kind of movie and material. Chris Evans is delightfully goofy. Oscar Jaenada reminded me of James Coburn in “The Magnificent Seven” in that he says a lot by not saying anything at all. Jason Patric has a whole lot of fun with playing Max, a guy so obviously loopy but also so enjoying figuring out how to start a world war that you perk up every time he’s on screen. But Holt McCallany as his henchman Wade is the one to watch as he steals every scene he and Patric share. McCallany is perfect as the henchman who knows his boss isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer but he’s dutifully there keeping things running behind the scenes while his boss is making world domination speeches. And while I like Zoe Saldana I don’t think she has to be in every movie I see this year.
There’s not really a whole lot of characterization in this movie. Each of the characters have one main characteristic and a secondary one but they make it work. I like how Jensen never wears the same T-shirt twice and you know what? I didn’t care. Any other movie would have taken time to explain exactly how the ‘snukes’ worked. This didn’t and you know what? I didn’t care. THE LOSERS is exactly what it is: a very well made junk food movie. The cinematic equivalent of a McDouble with cheese, large fries and a large Coke. It’s exciting, it’s thrilling, and it’s fun. Enjoy.
PG-13
98 minutes
2010
Warner Bros./Dark Castle Entertainment
Directed by Sylvain White
Produced by Joel Silver and Akiva Goldsman
Written by Peter Berg and James Vanderbilt
Based on the comic book created by Andy Diggle and Jock
It wasn’t too long ago I was having a discussion with somebody where I lamented that there’s a sub-genre of the action adventure film that just doesn’t get made anymore. If you’ve ever seen “The Professionals” “Kelly’s Heroes” “The Wild Bunch” or “The Wrath of God” then you’re familiar with the conventions of this sub-genre. A group of outlaws/mercenaries/rogues are forced to accept a suicide mission that finds them up against overwhelming odds. There’s usually a whole lot of money at stake but more often than not, the group ends up fighting for their honor and justice.
As my wife Patricia has been telling me for years, I have a bad habit of talking before thinking because this summer is going to be chock full of this type of movie. We’ve got “The A-Team” “Takers” and “The Expendables” to look forward to but I can’t think of a better way to kick off this wave of he-man action-adventure than THE LOSERS which is amazing in its own stubborn refusal to take itself very seriously and give us exactly what the trailers promised. Tough guys being tough, stuff blowing up every five minutes and shootouts to keep us interested until the next big explosion.
We’re introduced to The Losers while they’re on a mission in Bolivia to take down a drug lord. The Losers are a Special Forces team of covert operatives led by Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and he’s backed up by Jensen (Chris Evans) computer expert/hacker. Roque (Idris Elba) who has a special affinity for bladed weapons. Cougar (Oscar Jaenada) sniper extraordinare and Pooch (Columbus Short) who can pilot anything that flies, floats or rolls. The mission quickly goes south as there are children in the drug lord’s compound and The Losers cannot call off the air strike on the compound due to the interference of the mysterious “Max” (Jason Patric). In the furious battle that follows, the children are killed in place of the team and The Losers themselves elect to pretend they’re dead in order to find out who Max is, why he wanted them dead and to avenge the children.
And I’m actually not giving away much with that short plot synopsis because all that happens in the first ten minutes or so of the movie. But don’t worry, there’s still a lot more story to go. Especially when the mysterious and beautiful Aisha (Zoe Saldana) who also wants Max dead. She hooks up with The Losers, bankrolling their operation and proving herself to be just as dangerous and deadly in the field when it comes to taking out the bad guys.
The action in this one is outrageous what with a major shootout and explosions right in the middle of downtown Miami that I have no idea at all how they filmed. I would have preferred the hand-to-hand fights not be so choppily edited but I was having so much fun, after awhile I said, ‘the hell with it’ and just rolled with it. One of the things I liked a lot about THE LOSERS that here’s a movie that doesn’t feel the need to explain every single detail right away. And if you’re paying attention you’ll get those plot points. This is a movie that moves at high speed and you simply have to hang on and enjoy the ride.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a movie where I’ve enjoyed all the performances the way I enjoyed them in THE LOSERS. Jeffrey Dean Morgan can have the career as a new action hero that Gerard Butler could have had. If Mr. Butler wasn’t more interested in making brain dead romantic comedies, that is. Jeffrey Dean Morgan just seems so at ease and at home with this kind of movie and material. Chris Evans is delightfully goofy. Oscar Jaenada reminded me of James Coburn in “The Magnificent Seven” in that he says a lot by not saying anything at all. Jason Patric has a whole lot of fun with playing Max, a guy so obviously loopy but also so enjoying figuring out how to start a world war that you perk up every time he’s on screen. But Holt McCallany as his henchman Wade is the one to watch as he steals every scene he and Patric share. McCallany is perfect as the henchman who knows his boss isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer but he’s dutifully there keeping things running behind the scenes while his boss is making world domination speeches. And while I like Zoe Saldana I don’t think she has to be in every movie I see this year.
There’s not really a whole lot of characterization in this movie. Each of the characters have one main characteristic and a secondary one but they make it work. I like how Jensen never wears the same T-shirt twice and you know what? I didn’t care. Any other movie would have taken time to explain exactly how the ‘snukes’ worked. This didn’t and you know what? I didn’t care. THE LOSERS is exactly what it is: a very well made junk food movie. The cinematic equivalent of a McDouble with cheese, large fries and a large Coke. It’s exciting, it’s thrilling, and it’s fun. Enjoy.
PG-13
98 minutes
