The Losers is both a lot of fun and, surprisingly and refreshingly, not ineptly stupid. While it may come off as that, it isn’t. It’s a really well-done action film made in the vein of old-school “all for one, one for all” romps like The Dirty Dozen. It has the same formula: unique characters, one-liners and of course plenty of competently-staged fight sequences. It hardly ever slows down.
It’s a bit reminiscent of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, but in no means by quality. Joe was pure Mystery Science theater camp while this is an actual good movie, but in terms of storytelling their similar. Follows a team? Check. Tries to make all of them distinct? Check. Doesn’t take itself too seriously? Check. A scenery-chewing, money-loving villain (Jason Patric) with henchmen? Check. The difference in all those similarities: The Losers makes it all work.
The story revolves around the best of the best: a group of soldiers who know how to get the job done. There’s the leading hard man Clay (Jeffery Dean Morgan), his right hand man Roque (Idris Elba), the tech nerd Jensen (Chris Evans), weapons expert Pooch (Columbus Short) and, of course, there’s the quiet, mysterious minority player Cougar (Óscar Jaenada).
While on a routine mission everything goes bad. Set up by a mysterious villain simply named Max (Patric), the team lose their identities, declared dead by the government. They’re being hunted and lost without their identities. What do they want now? Revenge and, of course, their identities back. To do this, they plan to wage a war against their former employers, with an eye on Max. All of this with the assistance of the beautiful femme fatale Aisha (Zoe Saldana).
In a rather hilarious scene with Evans, which there are many of, he concludes with,”this feels so contrived.” That line in itself represents a good chunk of The Loser‘s running time. Is that a total slant? Actually, no. Everyone here is aware of the familiar territory being run over. It takes a story we’ve seen before and makes a slicker version of it. It’s rather simplistic and goes where you’d expect it to, save two twists perhaps. While those two turns are somewhat surprising, they still could have worked a bit better, i.e. with a bit more explanation. Since the pacing is so rapid, mostly for good reason, it runs through plot points too quickly to worry about the little details.
Having read a volume or two of the much-loved graphic novel series, it seems to have kept that cynical tone present there. It may not be as dark or as hard-edged, but it’s consistent in that sarcastic feel. The tone is actually handled incredibly well. There’s plenty of one-liners and humor and it all works.
When it comes to seeing the team in action, which many are going in for, it’s handled proficiently. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before, it’s not re-inventing the wheel or anything, but it’s just good old fashioned, well-cut action. Director Sylvain White (Stomp The Yard) obviously has an eye for for spectacle and each set piece is distinct and easy to follow. No fast cutting and no constant close-ups. It all flows naturally and actually never comes off as action for action’s sake– except for perhaps the hotel room brawl between Clay and Aisha.
Going back the G.I. Joe analogy, one difference that must be noted: The Losers are an actual competent team. In Joe they were quite possibly one of the most unreliable and terrible teams to shred the screen in cinematic history i.e. getting civilians killed and never coming off as “the best at what they do.” Here, on the other hand, it’s the complete opposite. They live up to their status and are believable. They’re all likable and fully realized characters, not caricatures at all– except for Aisha who comes off as just eye candy. Even in the rather short running time they all have their moments.
As for the team, White couldn’t have assembled a better cast. They all play off each other perfectly. Morgan shows he can be a leading man. Evans is still the go-to guy for comedic relief. Elba and Short continue to prove themselves as strong screen presences. Jaenada makes for the silent bad ass we all like. Unfortunately for Saldana, she can’t quite hold her own with the main crew. It’s a bit of an underwritten character and she ends up getting stuck in a rather half-baked romance sub-plot, which feels a bit useless. She’s fine, but doesn’t standout as well as she should.
This is a fun action movie throwback. Small in scope and quick paced, Sylvain White has made a fine popcorn movie.