The Losers

The Losers 2010
Director: Sylvain White
Writers: Peter Berg and James Vanderbilt
Starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, Oscar Jaenada, Jason Patric and Holt McCallany
The Losers is the latest in a long line of comic book to film adaptations and this is one of the few of them that I have not read the original source material. This film is a great throwback action film and it is very cinematic. It is not a film to take seriously, as it has a real comic book quality to the action and the story. It reminds me a lot of The A-Team and that is a good thing. The film is filled with some great acting; I especially liked Morgan Evans and Zaldana. The action sequences are absurd and over the top and it really works for the film. For example the climactic battle at the end that ends with a man flying into a jet engine is ludicrous but highly enjoyable. I wish the film had been more successful because they leave it open for a sequel and I would have loved to have seen the continuing adventures of this crew. This is a fun and bombastic action film and well worth a second look.
The plot basics are this, in Bolivia a special operations unit is on a mission to take out a drug dealer. The mission goes horribly wrong and the team is thought to have been killed off by the CIA. After this happens the team’s leader Clay (Morgan) meets Aisha (Zaldana) who has a way for him to get his team back to the states and to get the man responsible for their dishonor, Max (Patric). The team must remain undercover while they try to take down Max who looks as if he wants to start WWIII with some new tech nuclear bombs. It is up to Clay and his team to stop this while at the same time finding a way to clear their names.
This is a fun action film. White’s direction is top notch. I especially liked the way the opening action sequence was shot with the freeze frames of every shot that hits the bad guys. The use of the comic book art in the credits was top notch too and really brought that comic book flavor to the film. My favorite scene though had to be with Jensen in the office building that was hilarious. The script is good, with some nice twist and turns that really propel the story forward. The characterization of Clay was very good too, you really felt for his dilemma in the sotry. The cast was amazing. Morgan was a great lead and this was far different than his role in Watchmen. Saldana was quite good too, she really played the femme fatale very well and pulled off the action sequences admirably. The scene stealer in the film though is Evans, he steals every scene he is in and his scene in the office building is the highlight of the film. Patric makes a decent villain, but I think sometimes overplays his hand. The SFX and action sequences are pulled off quite well. I really liked the ending sequence with the jet, which was very cinematic and cool. The music in the film was picked well too, I especially loved the use of Journey during the office building scene, that just brought a smile to my face. This is a throwback action film and well worth a look.
This one gets 4 out of 5