As a rule of thumb, when eerily similar movies are released in the same year (Dante’s Peak and Volcano, A Bug’s Life and Antz, Wyatt Earp and Tombstone) one is light years better than the other.
If I were The A*Team, I’d watch out. This doesn’t bode well for you.
The Losers is story of five rag-tag, black ops guys who are targeted for death in Bolivia by Max (Jason Patric), a slimy, mega-gillionaire arms dealer who’s very content to sit back and watch the countries blow each other up, so long as he’s making money off it. Of course, the Losers don’t die and instead decide it’s best to just pretend that they did—all the better to spend the rest of their days as gringo nobodies in Bolivia.
Enter Zoe Saldana as a woman who offers the Losers all the money and equipment they need (plus a return to the U.S.), so long as they agree to put their skills back to good use and kill Max. (She has her reasons, too.)
They agree and spend the rest of the movie trying to figure out (a) who Max is (b) why he wanted them dead and (c) how best to exact revenge.
Sound familiar? Yes, it’s The A*Team with one extra guy.
Equal parts wise-cracks, rocket launchers, and Michael Bay-style visuals, The Losers is a heck of a lot of fun. The five guys each have their own talents (and quirks)– from the sniper who never talks but loves his hat, to the tech guy with a penchant for odd-ball t-shirts, to Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), the washed-up ringleader.
Directed by Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) and written by Peter Berg and James Vanderbilt (from the comic book by Andy Diggle and Jock), The Losers comes across as a kick-butt mix of Oceans 11 and Tropic Thunder. There are twists and turns throughout, and all of the performances (particularly Patric’s and Saldana’s) are a joy to watch.
The killer one-liners keep on coming, and the action is very evenly paced– just when you think it’s starting to drag a little… BOOM!
Thankfully, the filmmakers didn’t take themselves to seriously and instead were content to just sit back and let the action and dialogue carry the film.
The Losers is a hard-rockin’, very satisfying, good time.
And it left the door WIDE open for a sequel…. which would no doubt hit theaters around the same time as The A*Team 2.
4/5 stars