The Losers Review - A Second Take

I have not read The Losers comic as my compatriot has, so my review will be based solely on how I viewed it as a film. To be quite blunt, I didn't like it. Now don't get me wrong, I certainly didn't hate the movie and there were a few things I quite enjoyed. i just feel that, on the whole, the movie failed.

I suppose my biggest complaint is the script. Now once again, i haven't read the comic so I can't comment on how accurate it was to the source. The movie, however, just felt bland. It was just another action movie, and I think it will be overshadowed by The A-Team and The Expendables later this summer. I believe what will make these more enjoyable will be their sense of fun. The losers should have had this sense of fun but it never quite got there. When the movie tried to be fun it usually just came off as awkward or lame. This was not always the case as as I will get to in a bit.

The movie also never really made you care about the Losers themselves. Now, it's been a couple weeks since i've seen the movie, but all I remember about the characters back story is that one of their wives was pregnant, and Chris Evans had a niece who played soccer, and the only reason I remember that is because of a few awkwardly shoehorned scenes right before the credits. SPOILER ALERT When one of the Losers betrays the team in the last act, there was absolutely no emotional pull. It was just "oh, he's a jerk now." I mean he was angry basically the whole movie so if anyone was going to betray them i guess it would be him. And when he was killed at the end it was like Clay didn't even care. I mean weren't these two like best friends? I know he betrayed you, but come on, that doesn't mean you have to kill him.

And speaking of villains, I have to completely agree with Clark about the absolute ridiculousness of Max. It literally felt like I was watching a different movie every time he was on screen. It didn't help that he shared screen time with one of our protagonists for all of ten minutes. His acting was over the top, and his scenes were just uncomfortable. If the rest of the movie had been over the top in its silliness as his, he would have felt more in place. As it stands, though,he just seems out of place.

There were a couple things I enjoyed in the movie though. The cinematography was fun and it made the action scenes look interesting, even if the content of the scenes were not. Chis Evans absolutely made this movie watchable for me. I, too have greatly enjoyed Evans in everything I've seen him in, and he has made otherwise unwatchable movies entertaining. The scene where he is pretending to have telekinetic powers was by far the most entertaining scene in the movie.

Overall, The Losers was not a particularly bad movie, but i didn't particularly like it either. If you enjoy action movies, I would recommend catching it on DVD when it comes out, but maybe rent it before you buy it.

Grade: C