Though slightly juvenile for an action film, (hence the PG-13 rating) The Losers has wit, and that counts for something. The clichés are all there; the distraught hero, the girl with the gun, the dapper villain eager to get his hands on nuclear weapons, the geeky tech nerd, the bad-guy cops. The Losers frequently plays all this for laughs, it has a great sense of humour without which the film would be epically cheesy. There are some familiar faces in the cast, along with some new ones, and everyone seems to be having a good time, which helps us to have a good time.
If I had to guess, I'd say it'd be Zoe Saldana which the studio values most for selling the product, which is kind of degrading. She may well be on the road to the Typecast city, until James Cameron gets Avatar 2 going. At least she can do her own stunts, something Megan Fox is probably incapable of. The best performance in the movie though is turned in by Jason Patric oddly enough, whose take on the clichéd super villain ready to wreak havoc with the push of a button, is perfect. There is no way anyone could take such a character seriously no why not goof it up a bit. The year is young but this guy is the Col. Hans Landa of 2010. Sometimes, the Losers doesn't work so good. At times it is just a little too unbelievable, especially the interplay between Saldana and Morgan, which is just gratuitous.
So for an early blockbuster, The Losers delivers about what you'd expect. Though there is nothing super special about it, the movie has some tricks up its sleeve which might be worth checking out.
