WAKE UP THE MASSES!!!!! Welcome to Something Clever.
As promised, we DID go see The Losers this weekend, and my good friend Mike V. has been kind enough to provide us with a review...which is very convenient, because my review would have basically said "Gratuitous booty shots of Zoe Saldana...I SMELL OSCAR!!!" Anyway, without further interruption, enjoy the review.
SPOILER ALERT! POSSIBLE PLOT INFO BELOW!!!
Everyone loves being pleasantly surprised now and again. Come on you know you do, admit it…
This is exactly the feeling I got walking out of The Losers…
Admittedly, it would be quite the undertaking to find a movie featuring Zoe Saldana that I would not, at the very least, have a slight interest in seeing, and I’m not afraid to say that part of my desire to see the movie was rooted there. That being said, this movie delivered on multiple levels.
If you want a quick “in a nutshell” synopsis, here it is: Five hardened soldiers are sent into Bolivia to kill a Drug Lord. They find him, set up and bombing run (only to realize that there are children in the camp that is to be destroyed). After a mysterious voice referred to as “Max” denies their plea to abort, they go in rescue the kids. The one helicopter sent to extract them can only fit the kids, so they stay behind. The helicopter is shot down, the children all die.
So, I have to say something here, and I don’t mean to spoil anything, but before one of the kids gets on the helicopter, she tries to give her teddy bear to Clay (the leader of the squad), and after the helicopter is blown to kingdom come, there is a shot of the bear burning....
Note to self: If there is a sentimental moment in a Hollywood film, where a young child is told to take care of a stuffed animal in a tense/dangerous moment, either the kid, the teddy bear, or both are going down, and going down quick..
Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard 2007) really had quite the cast to work with; the chemistry between all the characters was top notch, and flowed naturally. The movie seemed to play with the boundaries of action and comedy, almost seamlessly blending and switching between the two. Comic relief was timely, cynical, and often times hilarious.
Clay (Jeffery Dean Morgan) is the squad leader of that jaded ex- military group that seeks revenge upon “Max” (Jason Patric), who made an attempt on their lives (see the above synopsis). Aided by Aisha (Zoe Saldana), Jensen (Chris Evans), Roque (Idris Elba), Pooch (Columbus Short), and Cougar (Óscar Jaenada) they embark upon a mission of revenge.
The movie balances a somewhat cold sinister feel, with a splash of cynical humor that runs throughout, and manages to keep attention, even throwing in a twist or two. While the plot was not revolutionary, it was well developed and, in my opinion, very entertaining. It didn’t rely on a specific feature (i.e. 3D, or special effects) to be the sole source of entertainment.
If I had to describe the movie in one word, I would have to use “fun”. In a tough economy, and a movie industry that is riddled with flops and “been-dones”, I would have to say this is worth the price of admission.Hey, who knows... you may even be as pleasantly surprised as me…
-Mike V
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