It's no secret that Hollywood has a new-found obsession for films based on graphic novels. For the most part, the larger franchises like Batman, Spider Man and the X-Men have done very well and even the lesser know characters like Iron Man have been received well. So writers and film execs are delving into story lines and characters that are pretty much unknown to the general public, but have a pretty good fan base in the graphic novel world. That being said, the old adage of "just because you can, doesn't mean you should." The Losers tries it's best to be an action-comedy film, but it doesn't quite get there. One thing does do is land in the "Guy Film" category and thrives there.
When a group of special ops soldiers are framed for an attack that involved children, they re-team after several to get revenge on the person who set them up. With the addition of Aisha (Saldana) they are able to return to the United States, where Clay (Morgan) leads his team (Evans, Elba, Short, and Jaenada) in his retaliation against Max (Patric).
The story is rather simple and doesn't really go to far off the beaten path. It moves rather quickly but tries to be too serious at times and made some rather awkward transitions into comedic elements. There is a bit of a twist thrown in but it doesn't succeed in the "shock" they were going for.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan does a s decent job as the leader of the group with his effortless style, while Saldana adds a female touch to thing, but isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. Evans is the one who steals the show in an office break-in scene that is great and sadly, the highlight of the movie. Patric as Max has some great one-liners, but also has some where you are waiting for the crickets to chime in.
One of the saving graces for this film is the cinematography. The actions scenes are filmed beautifully and have an original flare to them that was pretty cool. I mentioned this being a "Guy Film" and here's what I mean: Stuff blowing up, hot girls in action scenes and comedy (well, attempts at it). It also has some interesting uses of music, where it almost seemed synced with the scenes, instead of just the usual back ground music.
It's a guy flick; the gals probably won't like this one that much. It has a few moments of good that pop up in a field of mediocrity.It you are looking for some simple, mindless fun, give this one a try. But don't expect anything too deep.
Grade: C+