REVIEW: ‘The Losers’ Is Much Better Than Its Title Implies

by John P. Hanlon

It’s hard to go into a movie called “The Losers” with high expectations. The title is silly and likely turned some viewers off (who wants to go see a movie called “The Losers,” anyway?). Fortunately, the title does not do the movie justice as the film turns out to be a fun, light and enjoyable action adventure.

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The story begins with a unit of quirky individuals on a seemingly routine military mission in Bolivia. That mission becomes more complicated than expected when a group of kids becomes endangered and soon they’re (the “Losers”) all targeted for assassination by a mysterious man who goes by the name Max. After a failed assassination plot against the “Losers,” the team decides to seek vengeance against Max with the assistance of Aisha, an intense and seductive woman they meet while attempting to lay low. The movie focuses on the Losers and Aisha as they attempt to find Max and bring him to justice for betraying them. 

Although this sounds like a typical action adventure, events are spiced with comedic elements. The Losers never take themselves all that seriously and the story’s clever wit livens up the action sequences. In one particularly enjoyable sequence, one of the Losers has to break into an office to steal some files which leads to a woman catching him changing his clothes in the elevator and a smart ending to the escape operation all set to a terrific song.

The movie also features a solid cast including Jeffrey Dean Morgan (“Grey’s Anatomy”) as Clay, the leader of the Losers and Zoe Saldana  (“Star Trek”) as Aisha. However, the film’s best characters are in supporting roles. Chris Evans (“Fantastic Four”) is great as the tech member of the team, who enjoys wearing a variety of loud t-shirts; and Jason Patric (“Speed 2: Cruise Control”)  does strong work as the villain Max, a charismatic and murderous villain who delivers a lot of witty dialogue. Patric seems to relish this diabolical role. The film sees its characters as more fully-developed and smarter than other action movies and their charming quirkiness shines throughout.    

Like a lot of other action movies, this film does have ridiculous plot twists and developments — aspects that are unbelievable and over the top. However, there are also some cool surprises. Some of the plot twists work well. Overall, though, one of the biggest surprises  was how much fun and entertaining “The Losers” was. 

I wouldn’t go as far as to call “The Losers” a winner, but it is a pretty good and deserving of an audience.


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Posted Apr 29th 2010 at 2:23 pm in Film, Reviews | 52 Comments