Reviewed by Daniel Rutledge
A comic book adaptation completely packed with a vast array of weaponry and acted out by a great cast – I had high hopes for this.
Unfortunately, they weren’t met.
So it’s a silly story, almost as silly as G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. There are a few nonsensical scenes that ended with me going, “wait, hang on...”.
But that’s OK, so long as the action is fantastic.
It’s filled with humour and a lot of it is poor; the script should have had a huge amount of the unfunny bits trimmed out.
But that’s OK, so long as the action is fantastic.
The ending is also highly unsatisfactory, in that “you’ll find out in the sequel” kind of way.
But that’s OK, so long as the action is fantastic.
Unfortunately, the action is not fantastic. If you compare the action scenes to those in other recent comic book adaptations Kick Ass or Watchmen, they are vastly inferior. There are mild thrills here and there, and some impressive set pieces, but none of it is memorable. It’s also marred by horrible CGI at times.
While Chris Evans (The Human Torch from Fantastic Four) is, as usual, fairly annoying, the stunningly gorgeous Zoe Saldana (Uhura in Star Trek) is brilliant. Idris Elba (Stringer in The Wire), Jeffery Dean Morgan (The Comedian in Watchmen) and Jason Patric (Michael in The Lost Boys) all also turn in great performances that are a joy to watch, despite being hindered by a frequently lame script.
If The Losers was R-Rated and treated a bit more like an ‘80s Arnold Schwarzenegger film, it would be a winner. Instead, it is a fairly entertaining but instantly forgettable, watered-down, two-and-a-half star action flick.
The Losers
:: Director: Sylvain White
:: Director: Zoe Saldana, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, Jason Patric, Óscar Jaenada
:: Running Time: 100 mins
:: Rating: M - contains violence & offensive language
:: Release Date: May 20, 2010
:: Links: Trailer, Official website
