The Losers (Movie Review)

Normally, I stick strictly to reviewing movies that fit in the sci-fi, fantasy, superhero or horror genre. But I made an exception for “The Losers” because of its origins in DC comics.

The plot(which draws from the re-vamped Vertigo version of the comic) centers on a group of soldiers who are framed and presumed dead, and must now clear their names while taking revenge on the man who framed them. Sounds a lot like the recent A-Team movie, doesn’t it? The parallels don’t end there. The tone and even a couple of the characters have analogs in the A-Team movie. Although this one came out first. This movie even has a climax at a shipyard surrounded by massive cargo containers. Not sure WHAT was going on behind the scenes in Hollywood to make that kind of repetition happen.

Putting all of this aside, including the original comic book, how does the movie stand on its own? Reasonably well, though not wonderfully.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Chris Evans are the only “names” in this movie, though it doesn’t represent their best work. Morgan doesn’t have quite enough good material to work with and Evans’ cocky humor only fires on all cylinders a couple of times.

There are some cool action shots in this movie including great use of slow motion. I found the visual experience to be more enjoyable than A-Team.

Although the movie is a decent way to pass the time and worth the dollar at Red Box, it doesn’t take enough chances to stand out. The humor shoots for quirky at times, especially in the scenes featuring the villain, “Max”. But it mostly just ends up feeling forced. The bad guys have opportunity to be presented as REALLY bad, but in the end just aren’t threatening enough in their personalities to create the tension this movie needs.

The lack of tension isn’t helped at all by an ending which strongly suggests a sequel rather than giving us the payoff we should have had.

The movie is unlikely to spark any meaningful conversation, though revenge is obviously a motivating plot element.

If you need an action flick fix, you could do worse, but don’t pay more than a buck.

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence, a scene of sensuality and language.

Quality: 7.0/10

Relevance: 5.0/10