I missed the comic book series on which this movie is based,
and I didn't see the film version which came out several years ago until now.
As I recall it didn't make much of a splash, which qualifies it as overlooked
as far as I'm concerned because I thought it was pretty good.
As the movie opens, The Losers aren't really losers at all. They're an elite team of Special Forces operatives (I think; their official designation isn't really clear) about to take out a jungle fortress belonging to a drug overlord. But things go bad, they're double-crossed by their CIA handler, and everybody thinks they're dead.
Actually, though, they've escaped, and they want revenge on the man who betrayed them. They're contacted by a beautiful, mysterious woman whose agenda seems to coincide with theirs, and when she offers to hire them, they're willing to go along with it.
From there, lots of stuff Blows Up Real Good, there are numerous plot twists and more double-crosses, and over-the-top action scenes abound. THE LOSERS bears a definite resemblance to THE EXPENDABLES, although it's not as bloody, the plot is slightly more realistic, and there are no big names in the cast, just solid actors like Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Idris Elba, and Chris Evans. The script also features a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor that had me laughing out loud a few times.
I was also pleased to see a mention in the credits of Andy Diggle, the creator and author of the comic book series, and the artist Jock, rather than the usual "Based on comics published by Vertigo/DC Comics" or some such. I'm always glad to see the actual creators get some credit, not just the corporation.
THE LOSERS is a pretty entertaining film. If you like action movies and haven't seen it yet, you might want to give a try.
As the movie opens, The Losers aren't really losers at all. They're an elite team of Special Forces operatives (I think; their official designation isn't really clear) about to take out a jungle fortress belonging to a drug overlord. But things go bad, they're double-crossed by their CIA handler, and everybody thinks they're dead.
Actually, though, they've escaped, and they want revenge on the man who betrayed them. They're contacted by a beautiful, mysterious woman whose agenda seems to coincide with theirs, and when she offers to hire them, they're willing to go along with it.
From there, lots of stuff Blows Up Real Good, there are numerous plot twists and more double-crosses, and over-the-top action scenes abound. THE LOSERS bears a definite resemblance to THE EXPENDABLES, although it's not as bloody, the plot is slightly more realistic, and there are no big names in the cast, just solid actors like Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Idris Elba, and Chris Evans. The script also features a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor that had me laughing out loud a few times.
I was also pleased to see a mention in the credits of Andy Diggle, the creator and author of the comic book series, and the artist Jock, rather than the usual "Based on comics published by Vertigo/DC Comics" or some such. I'm always glad to see the actual creators get some credit, not just the corporation.
THE LOSERS is a pretty entertaining film. If you like action movies and haven't seen it yet, you might want to give a try.
3 comments:
I thought it was a solid piece. Actually enjoyed it more than Expendables.
I thought this was going to be the 1970s movie with William (Big Bill) Smith, aka Nam's Angels.
By the way after your review a couple of weeks ago we watched CHRISTMAS TWISTER and I thought it was better than most of the SyFy Channel movies of the week, faint praise though that might be. At least it was watchable.
Jeff M.
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