No "Losers" Here

While the modern day action movie takes itself very serious and prides itself on being realistic, “The Losers” turns back the clock to a time when action movies were made for one thing. To be fun. “The Losers” has great action and tons of laughs. Action junkies will love this movie.

“The Losers” centers on a CIA black ops team, consisting of Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, “Watchmen”), Roque (Idris Elba, “The Wire”), Jensen (Chris Evans, “Fantastic Four” movies), Pooch (Columbus Short, “Accepted”), and Cougar (Oscar Jaenada). While on a mission in Bolivia, the team is betrayed by a man named Max (Jason Patric, “The Alamo”). The team then sets their sights on getting back to America as quietly as possible, but has had trouble the past four months. Along comes Aisha (Zoe Salander, “Star Trek”), who finds a way for them to get their lives back, and get revenge on Max. The Losers get back to America, and start their revenge on Max while trying to save the US.

First, the bad. The plot is “eh” on the strength scale. The cast really pulls the plot along making the revenge part front and center. Max’s threat seems great in the beginning, but somehow along the way loses steam.

Now for all the good. The cast has amazing chemistry, with Morgan and Elba seeming like they have been friends for years. Short and Evans provide the comic relief, but the humor is never forced. The one liners and quips are genuinely humorous and never self referential, a problem that can come up when comics try to be funny.

Speaking of Chris Evans, the guy steals the show in “The Losers.” His one liners are corny, but come off as hilarious (“That’s right, I got a crossbow bitches”). In one scene, he runs around an office building trying to escape to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” which becomes the unofficial anthem of the movie. It’s a scene that has been shown in every trailer, but for once the trailer doesn’t show the funniest parts.

The action is way over the top, but works with the movie’s comic book feel. When a guy is shot, the movie freezes for a second, almost as if the screen is a panel in a comic book. When introducing the characters, art by Jock (the artist from the comic “The Losers) is used. “The Losers” blatantly sets up a sequel, but enough plot threads are left dangling that a sequel can be warranted.

“The Losers” doesn’t set out to be something it’s not. It’s an action romp with tons of comedy thrown in that will please any action fan or comic book fan.