A Reel Review: THE LOSERS

If THE LOSERS commits one single sin in its 90-minute hyperactive romp, it is that it tries to take itself too seriously. It is a comic book adaptation with all the laughs and ridiculousness necessary for a popcorn film, but tries a little too hard to be a serious contender while acting as a milkshake of every action franchise ever made.

A U.S. Special Forces team (we think) called “The Losers” is on a mission in Bolivia, when a case of good ethics gets in the way of the bloody mission. Led by Clay (Jeffery Dean Morgan), the team heads into exile as they are presumed dead in America, courtesy of supervillian Max (Jason Patric). Clay meets Aisha (a sexed up Zoe Saldana), who promises to help him and his team take revenge on Max. He and team, including Jensen (Chris Evans), Pooch (Columbus Short), and Cougar (Oscar Jaenada) then embark on a series of A-Team-esque missions and schemes to bring down Max before he can start a world war.

THE LOSERS suffers where the heart is, and that is the motivations of Clay and Aisha. Even though Aisha’s motivations are made clear towards the twisty and turny finale, it is a ho-hum moment that can be seen from a mile away. Both characters get most of the screen time, and they are meant to be the driving force that the rest of the team needs to rally around. With little time given to the development of characters, the heart and soul is AWOL. What also nearly kills the film is the bordering-upon-stupid supervillian, who serves as comic relief more than a despicable foe. With no hatred towards the villain, audiences couldn’t care less what would happen to him in the finale.

Where the characterizations fall short, the visuals and action sequences excel, even when they border upon silly. The action sequences, preceded by decent buildups and humor, come out of the screen in a hurry, and they are photographed and edited well so nothing is lost or confused. The scenes become a laugher after a while, and the film doesn’t seem to acknowledge the goofiness or camp of it all.

Morgan and Saldana get most of the screen time, and subsequent dialogue. Both actors do well with what they are given. The real gem is Chris Evans, who lights up the screen with laughs on every turn. Tragically, the rest of the team is underwritten and underdeveloped, and one too-many scenes are wedged in to try and force some depth. The real dud of the entire film is Jason Patric’s silly-assed villain, who is a paraody of Dr. Evil that no one will care about.

Director Sylvain White doesn’t seem to know if he wants to make a comedy or a serious film, and sort of indecision hurts THE LOSERS. Long-time moviegoers will immediately note the rip-offs from past franchises (THE A-TEAM, JAMES BOND, THE RIGHT STUFF), and just might roll their eyes now and then. Still, THE LOSERS never manages to bore or slow down too much. It’s fun and mostly satisfying. Just don’t commit a sin and take it too seriously.

BOTTOM LINE: Rent it