Does it make sense to take a movie on its own terms? Does it dumb us down as moviegoers to say "yeah this is as implausible as Cubs World Championship but I'm going to sit here with a dumb smile on my face for two hours" ? Quite simply, no. Movies are about enjoying yourself. You can be riveted and terrified by a film like "Shutter Island" or bewildered by something like "Kick-Ass". That me brings to "The Losers". It's by no means a masterpiece but it is (for me) rather enjoyable. Why? Well that's what the other four paragraphs are for.
"The Losers" follows the idea of the A-team but are hardly the same story or the same men. They're a military special ops unit sent in to off a South American drug-dealer turned terrorist or something of the sort. Anyway they happen upon his base and see a bus of children being used as mules. The group acts. They radio the pilot of the inbound F-18 to hold off. On their radio pops a voice they've never heard before. His name is Max (Jason Patric) and he knows the kids are there, nor does he care. Now the group is on their own. They predictably rescue the kids before the bomber does his run. They then put the kids on a chopper and stay behind because "there wasn't room for both". Stop here. I'm making this a movie-rule. If the would-be heroes of a film have to stay behind we know what's about to happen to those who didn't. Even cute little Bolivian kids aren't immune to here. "That should have been us" replies Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Now our five heroes are on their own, pronounced dead and marooned in South America. "The Losers" consists of a silent but deadly sniper Cougar (Oscar Jaenada), hot head Roque (Idris Elba), soon-to-be family man Pooch (Columbus Short), and my personal favorite Jensen (Chris Evans). He's the manliest Geek Squad guy you'd ever meet. While kicking the tires around in Bolivia, Clay is confronted by Aisha (Zoe Saldana). Stop again.
The very first scene between Morgan and Saldana is a pretty accurate summary of the entire film. The two beat the hell out of each other in rather stylish fashion. Only, there's no reason for them to fight (yet). They meet, Clay is suspicious but all Aisha says is that she wants to do business. You will know after this scene whether or not this film is for you. If you say "why the hell are they fighting?" Then walk away and go see "Oceans". Every action scene has a smirk of implausibility to it. Thankfully they're easy to embrace because they're done with a wink and some stout set-pieces. Take the major-shootout in the middle of Miami. Our band of heroes MacGyver's their way out of that one all while none of the bad guys can really shoot straight and the local bystanders just seem to watch. That's not a criticism in any way because it's somehow very cool. It might sound snippy but the truth is that this film's lack of self-importance makes it all the more fun. If the movie doesn't question or explain its own absurdity why should we? None of it would really work if "The Losers" were just a bunch of hunky guys with guns. They're own characters, not cardboard cut-outs. Morgan turns in a sly performance as the groups would-be leader. His steamy scenes with Saldana seemed a little tacked on but their just quick cliché. Elba has always been able to play the jerk with poise and disdain and he's the chief one here. While the rest of the crew are in it together he just wants things to stop exploding around him, and for that he blames Clay. Jaenada's Cougar has the least dialogue and it's for the best. If Evans is the funniest one of the group he's definitely it's biggest badass. Evans and Short make the group seem real and charismatic though. Short has a baby on the way and as much you'd think someone like him would have a reason to bail he simply can't. That doesn't seem like a plot-point but an honest character call. Evans provides comic relief without prancing around like a dumbass. In one scene he rocks out to "Journey" while attempting to hijack some precious computer files. In a film with wise-ass streak a mile long it's this scene that really put a smile on my face. There's not much to say about the villain Max or Aisha. One is just eye-candy. The other plays your typical villain except he's far funnier and thus less sinister.
It's hard to fault a film that knows it's supposed to be fun and not a masterpiece. "The Losers" nails that basic premise. While the action scenes aren't particularly groundbreaking or unpredictable they have the quality of looking realistic while not actually being anything of the sort. Many films lose their identity as they go along. Something simple and enjoyable like "The Losers" never does.
visit me at celluloidlove.wordpress.com
"The Losers" follows the idea of the A-team but are hardly the same story or the same men. They're a military special ops unit sent in to off a South American drug-dealer turned terrorist or something of the sort. Anyway they happen upon his base and see a bus of children being used as mules. The group acts. They radio the pilot of the inbound F-18 to hold off. On their radio pops a voice they've never heard before. His name is Max (Jason Patric) and he knows the kids are there, nor does he care. Now the group is on their own. They predictably rescue the kids before the bomber does his run. They then put the kids on a chopper and stay behind because "there wasn't room for both". Stop here. I'm making this a movie-rule. If the would-be heroes of a film have to stay behind we know what's about to happen to those who didn't. Even cute little Bolivian kids aren't immune to here. "That should have been us" replies Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Now our five heroes are on their own, pronounced dead and marooned in South America. "The Losers" consists of a silent but deadly sniper Cougar (Oscar Jaenada), hot head Roque (Idris Elba), soon-to-be family man Pooch (Columbus Short), and my personal favorite Jensen (Chris Evans). He's the manliest Geek Squad guy you'd ever meet. While kicking the tires around in Bolivia, Clay is confronted by Aisha (Zoe Saldana). Stop again.
The very first scene between Morgan and Saldana is a pretty accurate summary of the entire film. The two beat the hell out of each other in rather stylish fashion. Only, there's no reason for them to fight (yet). They meet, Clay is suspicious but all Aisha says is that she wants to do business. You will know after this scene whether or not this film is for you. If you say "why the hell are they fighting?" Then walk away and go see "Oceans". Every action scene has a smirk of implausibility to it. Thankfully they're easy to embrace because they're done with a wink and some stout set-pieces. Take the major-shootout in the middle of Miami. Our band of heroes MacGyver's their way out of that one all while none of the bad guys can really shoot straight and the local bystanders just seem to watch. That's not a criticism in any way because it's somehow very cool. It might sound snippy but the truth is that this film's lack of self-importance makes it all the more fun. If the movie doesn't question or explain its own absurdity why should we? None of it would really work if "The Losers" were just a bunch of hunky guys with guns. They're own characters, not cardboard cut-outs. Morgan turns in a sly performance as the groups would-be leader. His steamy scenes with Saldana seemed a little tacked on but their just quick cliché. Elba has always been able to play the jerk with poise and disdain and he's the chief one here. While the rest of the crew are in it together he just wants things to stop exploding around him, and for that he blames Clay. Jaenada's Cougar has the least dialogue and it's for the best. If Evans is the funniest one of the group he's definitely it's biggest badass. Evans and Short make the group seem real and charismatic though. Short has a baby on the way and as much you'd think someone like him would have a reason to bail he simply can't. That doesn't seem like a plot-point but an honest character call. Evans provides comic relief without prancing around like a dumbass. In one scene he rocks out to "Journey" while attempting to hijack some precious computer files. In a film with wise-ass streak a mile long it's this scene that really put a smile on my face. There's not much to say about the villain Max or Aisha. One is just eye-candy. The other plays your typical villain except he's far funnier and thus less sinister.
It's hard to fault a film that knows it's supposed to be fun and not a masterpiece. "The Losers" nails that basic premise. While the action scenes aren't particularly groundbreaking or unpredictable they have the quality of looking realistic while not actually being anything of the sort. Many films lose their identity as they go along. Something simple and enjoyable like "The Losers" never does.
visit me at celluloidlove.wordpress.com
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