Movie Review - 'The Losers'

The Losers Starring Zoe Saldana, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Idris Elba Directed by Sylvain White Rated PG-13

It very rarely happens that style and substance exist on level ground. But even a movie that's heavy on style, like, say, Mouline Rouge!, has to have something behind it to string us along. Because most movies are downright average, films that emphasize their style typically leave a lot of the storytelling behind. The Losers definitely has style. And that's about it. However, off and on, it sure is fun to watch. You just come away wishing there was a little more steak behind the sizzle. To be sure, there's plenty of sizzle. The action is pretty inspired, considering this is essentially just a shoot-em-up, blow-em-up. Director Sylvain White sexes up a fight scene between Zoe Saldana and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and that's cool. And then there's the dialogue, which is highly irreverent and occasionally very funny. That's a lot of positives, but the movie's mostly strung together because the story is beyond simplistic. There are two ways to look at that: Either going all out and making it a comic book come to life will cover the weak spots or doing that will emphasize how little else the movie has to offer. In this case, individual scenes are fantastic, but they don't add up to anything particularly cohesive. The plot boils thusly: Five former government mercenaries - Morgan, Idris Elba, Chris Evans, Columbus Short, and Oscar Jaenada - are on the hunt for their former boss (Jason Patric), who set them up and left them for dead. And you thought your boss was difficult. What The Losers needs with this launching pad is a bit more motivation; it's as if Patric's actions are dictated only by the need to have the mercenaries target him later. And as good as he normally is, Patric could benefit from the current 3-D trend by being granted a second dimension. It's not his fault, though, because this movie isn't about characters but chess pieces. And The Losers could be so much better if it took that part of the equation more seriously. The mercenaries are meeting time-honored quotes of formula films, although Chris Evans and Columbus Short get more mileage out of the script than the others. Jeffrey Dean Morgan could have a great character if given more to work with, and that's the real oversight, because there's supposed to be so much sexual tension with Zoe Saldana, who projects plenty of attitude without going over the top. But there's a lot missing between these two characters, and given that they're essentially hogtied together by the script, that shouldn't be the case. If you saw Sylvain White's Stomp the Yard, you know that he does his best to enhance rather leaden scripts with cool visuals. In that film, it was dancing, and here, it's good old fashioned weaponed fight scene choreography. The same rules apply. But it's ironic or at least inconvenient that the director slaves away to make The Losers look so unique and the actors mostly do their best to raise the level of the performances to meet those things on the surface, but underneath there's so little going on. Seems like the work is pretty misplaced. It doesn't have to be Hamlet or anything, but the story itself should at least pique your interest once or twice. This movie assumes you know the whole thing already. The most unfortunate by-product is watching a cool-looking movie you don't care about. The Losers doesn't waste your time, exactly, but you'll probably wish it was more careful with it.

Comments

[ashseo]

The Losers plays like a grungy, sweaty action movie with all the energy sucked out of it. If while you're sitting in the theater watching it, you suspect that someone might have pumped Valium into the air conditioning vents, you're not alone.

[Doug]

I thought it was very entertaining, really funny dialougue, and good action. i agree with ur review, that there is not much to it. but there doesnt have to be, Its a great popcorn action movie.

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