The Losers

This film is an adaptation of the Vertigo comic series “The Losers”.

It seems every action movie coming out these days is based on a comic book. Studios have been working round the clock trying to find the next big franchise from the world of comics. Comic adaptations have had their smash successes, like the “Spider Man,” “Batman,” and “Iron Man” franchises. But for every one of those successes there’s at least one “Daredevil,” “Elektra,” “Kick-Ass,” or “Hulk” that doesn’t seem to resonate with fans and therefore flops at the box office. Maybe the key is to have the word “man” in the title. “The Losers” doesn’t, and that could be the reason it’s not very good, or it could just mean that we’re officially scraping the bottom of the comic book barrel. Either way, this new comic book film offers little to distinguish itself from its many colleagues.

Based on the comic book by the same name, “The Losers” follows five special ops American soldiers who are on a mission in Bolivia. There’s Jensen the computer specialist, Cougar the sniper, Pooch the driver, Roque the tactician, and the leader they call “Colonel.” The five are presumed dead in Bolivia after a mercenary named Max destroys a helicopter that they were thought to be aboard. The five lay low in Bolivia, knowing that they cannot risk traveling back to the states.

They meet Aisha, who has her own vendetta against Max, and she recruits them to help her kill Max, and, in return, she promises to clear their names of any wrong doing and give them their lives back. Along the way, there are some twists and betrayals, most of them the viewer will see coming a mile away, ending in a vengeful and violent showdown between our heroes and Max’s cronies.

In every action/comic book movie there is guaranteed to be fighting, explosions, and an attempt at comedy. It’s the ingenuity and execution of these elements by the cast and crew that either make or break the film. In the case of “The Losers,” the cast is likable and really the only good reason to see the movie. Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, and Columbus Short exhibit excellent chemistry as a group of soldiers who have clearly spent a great deal of time together. Zoe Saldana (from last year’s mega blockbuster “Avatar”) is representative as the female lead whose motives are uncertain. The problem lies in the completely unoriginal story and direction by Sylvain White (“Stomp the Yard”). There’s nothing new or exciting on display here, and, as a result, the cast is wasted.

From a Christian viewers’ perspective, “The Losers” earns its PG-13 rating with plenty of violence (mostly bloodless), some tough language, as well as a good share of sexual content. While there is no frontal nudity in the film, the female lead is seen in plenty of revealing outfits as well as two scenes where it appears she is topless. While none of these aspects of the movie would be considered gratuitous, they should be noted, especially when considering taking your children.

I can best sum up my feelings about “The Losers” by saying this: within ten minutes of the movie’s conclusion, I could not remember a single character’s name from the film. Despite some funny lines and a good cast, I felt I had seen this movie several times before, and my brain was on auto pilot. Generic in almost every way, “The Losers” doesn’t win any originality points, and its style and cast can only carry it so far, and that’s not nearly far enough.

Violence: Heavy / Profanity: Heavy / Sex/Nudity: Heavy

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