The Losers ««
PG-13, 98m. 2010
Cast & Credits: Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Clay), Zoe Saldana (Aisha), Chris Evans (Jensen), Idris Elba (Roque), Columbus Short (Pooch), Oscar Jaenada (Cougar), Jason Patric (Max), Holt McCallany (Wade). Screenplay by Peter Berg and James Vanderbilt based on characters created by Andy Diggle. Directed by Sylvain White.
Were it not for one scene in the trailer that caught my attention from a nostalgic standpoint, I would have gladly passed on seeing The Losers. The scene, in particular, is the shot of a beaten down yellow Ford Pinto two of the heroes use as they wait for the bad guy to show up.
“I sure hope he doesn’t see us in this bright, yellow banana,” Rogue (Idris Elba) says to Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), the leader of a CIA black ops team out for revenge against Max (Jason Patric), the guy who targeted them for assassination.
“Are you embarrassed to be seen in an American classic,” Clay asks.
The reason that old yellow Ford Pinto got my attention was because it was the same colored car I drove back in high school and for a few years after graduation. That “American classic” was rusted out, had a broken passenger seat, would play only AM radio stations, had no air conditioning (they didn’t have air conditioners), and no protective covering for the gas tank. The vehicle was a driving time bomb as my dad never took it in when Ford recalled them back in the 1970s for an upgrade after a scandal erupted surrounding the automobile's lack of protective gas covering. It was reported a hit from behind would possibly cause the car's fuel tank to rupture and explode.
Yes, when friends of mine sat in it, I could honestly say they were embarrassed to be seen in this “bright yellow banana.”
I thought about that scene watching The Losers and wondered if maybe these heroes are not that smart. What worse way can the good guys draw attention to themselves and perhaps give the villain a clue they were after him by waiting for his arrival in a vehicle clearly out of place with today’s 21st century automobiles?
The Losers is what I call “A-Team lite” as it is the first of four action-adventure, comedy films due out between now and August. It exhibits the same good guy versus bad guy plots as MacGruber (out May 21), the big screen remake of The A-Team (out June 11), and finally The Expendables (Aug. 13) with Sylvester Stallone. All four films feature the good guys in mercenary type roles, former government agents, or wanted military servicemen on the run to avenge their downfalls on those who framed them.
Of the four, I don’t think I’d be terribly off the mark in predicting the most successful in terms of box office revenue will be The A-Team given it’s based on a popular television show of the 80s and boasts a promising cast headed by Liam Neeson. The same goes for Stallone’s The Expendables. I don’t watch Saturday Night Live but those who do and are familiar with Will Forte’s comedy routines will probably be interested in seeing MacGruber.
As a result of that one scene involving the Ford Pinto I saw from the trailer, however, I got the impression The Losers might be an enjoyably, brainless, fun action-adventure popcorn movie. If all one is looking for is a lot of choreographed action sequences and a few slices of female cheesecake, The Losers offers plenty of that. I want more from a mindlessly silly popcorn movie though. One where I can emotionally root for the good guys, and maybe relish the way a villain steals the show, if not cheer the moment he gets his comeuppance. That’s what’s missing from The Losers. Excuse me for having higher expectations.
It reminds me of another nostalgic moment back in the early 1980s of a popular Wendy’s “Where’s the beef” commercial. A trio of old ladies are served what they assume will be a deliciously, juicy hamburger only to receive a huge bun and a very, very small piece of meat.
The Losers boasts all the promising trimmings but very little “meat. Oh, and about that yellow 76’ Ford Pinto I drove eons ago? Someone actually bought it but that wasn’t the end of the “bright yellow banana.” The fiery end came later with a phone call from the police who told us the car was totaled in an accident after being hit from behind and exploded. We wouldn’t have known that if my dad signed over the title. So much for an “American classic.”
©4/26/10
PG-13, 98m. 2010
Cast & Credits: Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Clay), Zoe Saldana (Aisha), Chris Evans (Jensen), Idris Elba (Roque), Columbus Short (Pooch), Oscar Jaenada (Cougar), Jason Patric (Max), Holt McCallany (Wade). Screenplay by Peter Berg and James Vanderbilt based on characters created by Andy Diggle. Directed by Sylvain White.
“I sure hope he doesn’t see us in this bright, yellow banana,” Rogue (Idris Elba) says to Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), the leader of a CIA black ops team out for revenge against Max (Jason Patric), the guy who targeted them for assassination.
“Are you embarrassed to be seen in an American classic,” Clay asks.
The reason that old yellow Ford Pinto got my attention was because it was the same colored car I drove back in high school and for a few years after graduation. That “American classic” was rusted out, had a broken passenger seat, would play only AM radio stations, had no air conditioning (they didn’t have air conditioners), and no protective covering for the gas tank. The vehicle was a driving time bomb as my dad never took it in when Ford recalled them back in the 1970s for an upgrade after a scandal erupted surrounding the automobile's lack of protective gas covering. It was reported a hit from behind would possibly cause the car's fuel tank to rupture and explode.
Yes, when friends of mine sat in it, I could honestly say they were embarrassed to be seen in this “bright yellow banana.”
I thought about that scene watching The Losers and wondered if maybe these heroes are not that smart. What worse way can the good guys draw attention to themselves and perhaps give the villain a clue they were after him by waiting for his arrival in a vehicle clearly out of place with today’s 21st century automobiles?
My hopes of any enjoyment watching The Losers ended within the first 15 minutes or so. Seeing 25 innocent children, who were pawns at the hands of a drug lord Clay’s CIA unit was asked to put out of commission, getting blown out of the sky, my heart sank. Maybe it’s me, and I am certain many, if not all, will say it is. Be that as it may, I find the older and grouchier I get, the more critical I am towards the kinds of unsettling, perhaps unnecessary, violence a lot of today’s movies resort to showing, especially when kids are involved. I don’t see how I can enjoy a film where a child is either in danger or dies tragically. I get this in the news every day. I don’t need it displayed for me on the big screen, even if it is “only” a movie, and where in the case of this film is the reason why Clay and his crew are out for revenge against Max.“That was supposed to be us,” Clay says to his men as he picks up a burning teddy bear from the wreckage a kid was holding moments before. Clay’s men go by one-word code names like Pooch (Columbus Short), a hotshot pilot and driver. I suspect Cougar (Oscar Jaenada) got his name because he is an expert marksman. There is a reason why one character is called “Rogue” (Idris Elba) which I won’t reveal here. Finally, there is Jensen (Chris Evans) who apparently doesn’t have a code name and is the most colorful of the bunch. He jams to Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin and has trouble making small talk with women, in particular with the mysterious government operative Aisha (Zoe Saldana) who wants Max dead for other reasons.
The Losers is what I call “A-Team lite” as it is the first of four action-adventure, comedy films due out between now and August. It exhibits the same good guy versus bad guy plots as MacGruber (out May 21), the big screen remake of The A-Team (out June 11), and finally The Expendables (Aug. 13) with Sylvester Stallone. All four films feature the good guys in mercenary type roles, former government agents, or wanted military servicemen on the run to avenge their downfalls on those who framed them.
Of the four, I don’t think I’d be terribly off the mark in predicting the most successful in terms of box office revenue will be The A-Team given it’s based on a popular television show of the 80s and boasts a promising cast headed by Liam Neeson. The same goes for Stallone’s The Expendables. I don’t watch Saturday Night Live but those who do and are familiar with Will Forte’s comedy routines will probably be interested in seeing MacGruber.
I can also safely predict that after seeing all four, The Losers will be the film I liked least. Granted, it has everything to offer in terms of action and fight sequences. I don’t think anyone watching this will be at all bored given all the many scenes of automatic weapons blazing, some of which is shot in slow motion to give viewers the full visual effect. Viewers of both sexes smitten with actress Zoe Saldana (Star Trek, Avatar – 2009) will be pleased. She is a beautiful woman. The April 28, 2010 issue of People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful Women says so. I wouldn’t be surprised if her name comes up as a possible love interest for the next James Bond installment if that ever happens.The film boasts a couple redeeming qualities. I like Jeffrey Dean Morgan, for example, who stole the show as the anti-hero The Comedian in last year’s overlong, yet faithfully adapted Watchmen. That film literally sprang to life for the brief time Morgan was on screen. Jason Patric has a few amusing moments as the villain like when he tries teaching one foreign henchman how to win at poker with no success.
As a result of that one scene involving the Ford Pinto I saw from the trailer, however, I got the impression The Losers might be an enjoyably, brainless, fun action-adventure popcorn movie. If all one is looking for is a lot of choreographed action sequences and a few slices of female cheesecake, The Losers offers plenty of that. I want more from a mindlessly silly popcorn movie though. One where I can emotionally root for the good guys, and maybe relish the way a villain steals the show, if not cheer the moment he gets his comeuppance. That’s what’s missing from The Losers. Excuse me for having higher expectations.
It reminds me of another nostalgic moment back in the early 1980s of a popular Wendy’s “Where’s the beef” commercial. A trio of old ladies are served what they assume will be a deliciously, juicy hamburger only to receive a huge bun and a very, very small piece of meat.
The Losers boasts all the promising trimmings but very little “meat. Oh, and about that yellow 76’ Ford Pinto I drove eons ago? Someone actually bought it but that wasn’t the end of the “bright yellow banana.” The fiery end came later with a phone call from the police who told us the car was totaled in an accident after being hit from behind and exploded. We wouldn’t have known that if my dad signed over the title. So much for an “American classic.”
©4/26/10
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