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‘Losers’ is over the top but fun
‘THE LOSERS’
Grade: C+
Credits: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Idris Elba, Chris Evans; director, Sylvain White
Running time: 1:38
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence, a scene of sensuality and language
Movie
The Losers
"The Losers" centers upon the members of an elite U.S. Special Forces unit sent into the Bolivian jungle on a search and destroy mission. The team-Clay, Jensen, Roque, Pooch and Cougar -find themselves the target of a lethal betrayal instigated from inside by a powerful enemy known only as Max. Presumed dead, the group makes plans to even the score when they're joined by the mysterious Aisha, a beautiful operative with her own agenda. Working together, they must remain deep undercover while tracking the heavily-guarded Max, a ruthless man bent on embroiling the world in a new high-tech global war.
By ROGER MOORE
The Orlando Sentinel
So now we see why Chris Evans, the onetime Johnny Storm of “The Fantastic Four,” was selected to play Captain America in the upcoming “Avengers” comic book epic: “The Losers” was his audition.
Evans steals “The Losers,” another comic-book adaptation about a team of “black ops” agents out for revenge on the fellow who betrayed them. As Jensen, the wise-cracking, parkour-practicing computer specialist, Evans bops and riffs in the best combat comic-book tradition.
“My favorite part was when we were completely on fire. But the shoot? That was good times.”
Sent by Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), the leader of The Losers, to retrieve a hard drive from a villain’s corporate lair, Evans dons bike-messenger gear, plugs in an iPod and bounces his way past security, singing a certain Journey hit in high falsetto.
“Juuuuust a small-town giirrrrrrllll ...”
The movie is a stupid, over-the-top comic-book-y action picture with the occasional cheesy effect, oddball casting and an utterly predictable get-that-guy-before-he-gets-us plot, but Evans and a couple of his mates make it passable entertainment.
“Losers” is a PG-13 action film — so the blood, profanity and sex are discreet. Director Sylvain White (he did “Stomp the Yard” with Short) keeps it loose and jokey, referencing the comic books and skipping by the silly plot.