The Losers (I) (2010)

On a mission in Bolivia, a special CIA team is sent to kill a target. Special circumstance happen when they see kids in the target zone. After rescuing the kids, they put them on their rescue helicopter and wait for a different extraction. Then they see their helicopter hit with a missile, the kids are dead and they are suppose to be to. Now they must make their way back to the States in order to get their lives back and kill the one who set them up.

The Losers is based on a comic of the same name. It was a limited issued series that I had never heard of, but after seeing the film, wouldn't mind checking out. The Losers is the type of action flick that surrounds itself with comedy and absurdity. You can't really take the things that happen seriously and the film knows this, it also pokes fun at itself. The Losers consist of Clay (Jeffery Dean Morgan) the leader, characterized by a guy who wears suits with no tie. Roque (Idris Elba) second in command and a hot head. Jensen (Chris Evans) who runs tech and is the comic relief. Pooch (Columbus Short) the driver and Cougar (Óscar Jaenada) the sniper expert. Each one has their own typical character trait, from rebel to wise-ass. The leader is obviously a troubled guy, who wants to do good and then you'll have your quite but deadly assassin. Nothing new by an means, but going in expecting this, I had a fun time.

Zoe Saladana plays Aisha, the ass kicking chick who discovers they are hiding in Bolivia and offers them a chance to kill the guy who set them all up, Max (Jason Patrick). She tells them she will fund their operation as long as they get Max for her. Hmm, sounds like she has something of her own agenda. Can we trust her? We don't know, neither do they. But they have nothing else to lose right? The villain as I mentioned earlier is Jason Patrick, whose last memorable film was 2002's Narc. He doesn't have much of a résumé, so I kind of found it odd that he was the villain in this piece. I don't know how well he does comedy since it was pretty lacking here. You read that right, comedy. The villain is comedic and his routine is the straight face bit. His lines were delivered awkwardly for me and it really was an awkward performance.

I kind of expected more action from this film, it doesn't wow you in anyway. The action sequences used are entertaining enough though, mainly because of who the characters are and what they do. Seeing Evans do some of the things seemed odd though, I didn't expect him to have much of an action background for his geek/tech character. Although it was interesting watching him with having Captain American on in the back of my mind. The Losers doesn't try to do anything new, instead it tries to simply entertain the audience that it is targeted at. To say this is a no brainer action film would fit it perfectly.

There are some twists and turns in the plot that I personally didn't like. It makes sense, but for me I wanted things to turn out differently. I'm told that the same thing happens in the comic, but I didn't want the dynamic of the group to be changed. I found myself disappointed with that aspect. The use of music in points is odd, Journey pops up in one sequence that might be the most memorable part of the film. That scene alone should tell you that the film is not just an action junkie film, but for people that want to laugh.

Can I recommend The Losers? I sure can, it seems to be getting beaten by the critics. I can see it from both sides of the looking glass. It's far from perfect and has a lot of things that would make people question it. Some of the comedy doesn't work, some people might not like the action sequences and again, the lead villain is odd. But I had a hell of a time watching it. The film is going to do very little business at the box office, mainly because there was no big name to draw people in and things that are based on anything that is not popular usually just has that small cult crowd. Kick-Ass was the victim of this last time, The Losers is the victim this time. I can totally see this film going into obscurity and no one remembering it. Which is a shame, because I liked it.