The Losers: Movie Review

The Losers: Movie Review

The Losers
Rating: 5/10
Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Jason Patric
Director: Sylvain White
So blockbuster season continues apace with this adaptation of a DC Comics series.
A CIA black ops team led by Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Clay is left for dead during an operation in Bolivia.
But this team of five guys with names like Roque, Pooch, Jensen, Clay and Cougar are determined to fight back - and get Max the man who set up the team.
However, Max has bigger plans for world domination (when don't they?) and soon Clay and the gang are trapped, desperately trying to clear their names.
Along the way, they join forces with the mysterious Aisha (Zoe Saldana) who appears to have a grudge against Max too - but who's playing whom?
If The Losers sounds familiar, then that's probably because it is.
It's a similar plot to most other action thrillers (and sounds uncannily like the TV Series The A Team) and to be honest, there's nothing fabulously new to see here.
Trademark slow-mo action shots, things exploding, a hammy villain (yes Jason Patric I'm looking at you) and gratuitous long camera shots on the lead actress are all present and correct.
Also present is the continual cliché of what I like to term The A Team syndrome - which is where the good guys are seriously outnumbered by the bad guys, but it seems the villain's hired the worst shooters in the world as none of them can hit anything, regardless of how well stacked the odds are against the goodies.
But if you don't take the Losers too seriously, it's fairly good fun. Sure, it's all been done before, but some witty dialogue scattered throughout and some misfits on the team (as well as a charismatic Jeffrey Dean Morgan) make 90 minutes pass relatively quickly.

While there's nothing inherently wrong with this slyly mocking derivative action flick, it does feel like a missed opportunity and with hints that there could be a sequel, here's hoping a slightly smarter and stronger script does it more justice second time around.