Review - Bobby Belt

   

I don't understand the obsession in today's movies with things going boom. There doesn't seem to be much desire to do anything else than blow things up in about half the movies I see.

The Losers is the newest film from Sylvain White. He is the one that directed 2007's Stomp the Yard.

The Losers follows a U.S. Special Forces unit that is framed by a powerful enemy known simply as Max, for a war crime they didn't commit that resulted in the death of 25 Bolivian children. Led by their compassionate Sergeant, Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) the other 4, Jensen, Roque, Pooch, and Cougar (Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, Oscar Jaenada) fake their deaths and live under cover in Bolivia trying to formulate a plan that can get them back home.

While living in Bolivia, they come across Aisha (Zoe Saldana) who claims she can get them back into the U.S. and give them their chance for revenge against Max. Once back in the United States, some of the unit, particularly Roque, just wants to get home and skip all the revenge. It causes for tension throughout the unit and is the main plot line for the rest of the film.
There are numerous problems with The Losers. It's one of those films that likes to substitute content for fiery explosions that make you go "Oh, cool"

Particularly you have a love story sub-plot with Aisha and Clay that makes absolutely no sense. You can't just take the lead male and lead female and make them an on-screen couple without consideration for what kind of characters you're meshing and how it will vibe with the rest of the plot line. In this instance, it's an awkward pairing that throws the entire rest of the story off since it feels so out of place.

Another thing that's difficult to deal with is the tension between Roque and Clay that is basically presented to us from jump street without any background. It feels like there is a back story to every plot line in the movie, and Sylvain White simply decided not to tell us what any of it was. There's distance between the audience and the characters, because we have no idea why they do the things they do. We can't connect and rationalize their anger and search for vengeance against everything in their path, because we don't know what drives them.
If you like things that go "Boom!" and don't have much else to offer, The Losers is fine. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of noise.

The Losers is rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence, a scene of sensuality and language.
Overall, I'd give the movie 2 out of 5...just not much there other than some cool stunt scenes.