I love steak. I love it medium with onions and mushrooms and some mashed potatoes and gravy on the side. Combine that with a good salad covered in French dressing and you have yourself a meal.
Other times, I enjoy getting a Big Mac with french fries, apple pie and a chocolate shake? Is it good for me? Not even remotely close. But it's quick, it's cheap and it tastes good. And, at the moment, that's all that matters.
The same goes for movies. I've got 600+ DVDs and counting in my collection. I've got ones that I will regard as classics (Godfather, Pulp Fiction, 12 Angry Men, Princess Bride, Raiders of the Lost Ark) but occassionally I'm in the mood for a movie that is completely nonsensical but moves fast and never slows down for trivial items like plot or characterization.
The Losers more than fits that bill. Based on a comic book (and sounding more than a bit like The A-Team which is also coming out this summer), a group of Army experts are set up in a mission and presumed dead. Fortunately they didn't die but they vow revenge upon the insanely evil mastermind Max (Jason Patric displaying more personality than he has in any role previously) who has moved on from them and moved onto purchasing eco-friendly terrorist weapons (making this an oddly appropriate movie to be released on Earth Day).
The team consists of the leader Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, The Watchmen), tech expert and wise-ass (Chris Evans, Fantastic Four and the upcoming Captain America), weapons expert Roque (Idris Elba, The Office), sharpshooter Cougar (Oscar Jaenada) and Pooch (Columbus Short). The group is funded by and assisted by the misterious Aisha (Zoe Saldana, Avatar and Star Trek). The movie basically is a collection of action set pieces including a short but hilarious breaking into a building by Jensen (while the punchline is revealed in the trailer, the build up is even better).
Director Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard) moves the movie along at a crisp pace. Realizing that the plot makes less than zero sense (after sitting through it, I'm STILL trying to figure it out and can't), he wisely does a series of quick cuts reminiscent of Michael Bay but ably keeps the movie at a comic book level. Unlike the more ambitious but ultimately disappointing Kick Ass, The Losers maintains it's tone throughout the entire film.
Is this film good in the classical sense of the word (subtety, complexity, growth of characters, etc)? Not even close. But, sometimes you don't want "good". Sometimes all you want is the Big Mac and this will more than satisfy your hunger.
Grade: B-
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