Losing (Interest)
So who are The Losers? Sylvain White’s film doesn’t waste any time introducing us to the group consisting of Pooch, Jensen, Roque, Cougar, and their leader, Clay. The introductions are short and the film never gets into explaining these characters very much, so readers of the comic will have more to chew on than a newcomer to the franchise like me. If the movie does well enough, a sequel will likely be where much of the character backgrounds are explained.
So, that said, this group of American spec ops is on assignment in Bolivia. Their orders are to locate a terrorist stronghold and laze it (aka paint it) for a bombing strike. After they call in the airstrike, the sniper, Cougar, notices that children are within the confines of the blast radius. Despite a desperate call to cancel the airstrike, a mysterious CIA agent named Max tells them the bombing is on, no questions asked. Naturally, The Losers can’t let this happen, so they storm the stronghold and escape just in time with the children. Max wants The Losers dead and has the pull to make it happen. He commands a nearby fighter pilot to blow down the extraction helicopter that they are supposed to be in. What Max failed to realize though was that The Losers put the children on the helicopter instead as there wasn’t room for everyone. When The Losers see the ‘copter blow up, they know they have been betrayed and must find a way to get back at Max.
By this point I was already rolling my eyes at the amount of forgettable crap licensed rock music that had been thrown into the soundtrack, even for incredibly short (i.e., useless) amounts of time. I also realized that, much like The A-Team, you have to forget reality here — while the tone of the movie is serious, outside of Jensen’s attempts at humor, the realism factor here is tremendously low. An ex-Navy SEAL consultant and a dedicated props guy certainly makes things look the part — but the actual execution is pure Hollywood and total BS. I expect a certain amount of that in action films, but the extend to which The Losers goes and the combination of other annoying aspects of this film made me happy when it ended.
Now, getting back to the story. The Losers are stuck in Bolivia, thought to be deceased. Zoe Saldana’s character, Aisha, comes to offer them a deal. She will get them back to America if they can get her Max. There is some mistrust and conflict and of course, the obligatory sensuality between Aisha and Clay, but it isn’t long before the team pulls together and the hunt for Max is on. No explanation is given for Max, par for the course with this film, but we can tell he’s a psychotic and smart CIA agent who values money and power over everything else.
The Losers has some good ideas, but I never found myself interested in its characters or the plot. The characters are about as generic and thin as can be, so I never cared what happened to them. I also loathed all of the unbelievable and “convenient” scenes you’re asked to accept. Again, as an action film fan, I understand that I should check a certain amount of reality at the door, but The Losers was simply asking for too much.
The Losers on Blu-ray
This Blu-ray release comes with the film on DVD and a digital copy as well. As for the presentation quality, The Losers didn’t disappoint. Expect a crisp and vibrant image and a solid audio track. This day and age you certainly expect that from a new action movie when it comes to Blu-ray, but that’s not always what you get; so I’m glad The Losers didn’t drop the ball here.
There are several extra features included. It actually took me a minute to get the hang of the menu system to navigate these; the point to make here is to make sure you look at the icon next to the text you currently have highlighted. Certain items have sub-menus, while others don’t. Anyway, here’s what you get in the extras department:
-Behind the Scenes: Zoe And The Losers (5.5m, HD) – Several cast and crew, including Zoe, talk about how she fit in with the other actors and how she was a good pick for the role. Some production footage and behind the scenes clips are shown.
-Behind the Scenes: Band of Buddies Ops Training (6m, HD) – Here we get to see what the actors went through, as far as training, to get ready for their roles. An ex-Navy SEAL preps them on realistic tactics.
-Behind the Scenes: The Losers Action Style Storytelling (10m, HD) – Andy Diggle and Jock talk about The Losers, from a comicbook and movie perspective.
-Batman: Under the Red Hood Preview (13m, HD) – Now this is a great film.
-Deleted Scene (45s, HD) – Yes, one deleted scene. It reveals a plot point that would have made the end of the film less interesting, so it’s not surprising it was removed.
-Walk the Ops Walk (~5m, HD)
-Transforming Puerto Rico (~5m, HD) – Producers talk about how they found a lot of great shooting locations in Puerto Rico to film. The movie actually takes place in several cities, but they were able to film it all in Puerto Rico thanks to its diverse landscape.
-Going Deep Into the Action (~10m, HD) – A closer look at some of the action scenes in the movie.
And there you have it. Let’s get to the summary…