The Losers

"A crack commando unit is framed for a crime they didn't commit. They promptly
escape into the Bolivian underground..."

...aaand it's not The A Team, it's The Losers. This must be killing Twentieth
Century Fox. All that money sunk into an A Team movie, and Warner beat them to
the punch by about a month, with an offering, I have to say, that I don't
anticipate them bettering.

Based on a DC/Vertigo comic book, The Losers are a CIA black ops team who (as
is inevitable in these situations) get screwed over by their boss, narrowly
escaping getting killed off when their evac helicopter is blown up.

Initially blending into the background in Bolivia (where their mission was),
they are approached by a mysterious woman who offers to get them back to the US
if they'll help her hunt down their old boss.

Ok, so it's not exactly the most original film in the world. It's a summer
action blockbuster, and so the question is really on whether this specific
iteration of the well worn plot is entertaining and amusing. And yes, it really
is.

The cast is really good. The team is Jeffery Dean Morgan (Team leader, badass),
Idris Elba (Serious badass), Chris Evans (Smartass hacker/recon guy), Columbus
Short (Wheelman/Mechanic/Gadget guy) and Oscar Jaenada (Latino Uber-cool
sniper). And these guys banter and interplay really well; it's not long before
you're absolutely familiar with these guys, what they're about, and rooting for
them all the way.

Up against them is Jason Patric as the quirky CIA Mastermind guy, Max. It's the
kind of psycho role they tend to hand directly to John Travolta these days, but
I'm glad they didn't, because Patric nails it way better than he would have.

Overall, I wouldn't go around saying that the plot made a lick of sense or
anything. What I would say is that the vital ingredient that
was missing in Prince of Persia was present here.

This is a film created by people who clearly love the genre. Everyone relishes
their roles, the director loves what he's doing, the effects shots are all
"wouldn't it be cool if..." moments, the whole bit. This film wears its heart
on its sleeve, and I love it for that. I hope it does well enough to score a sequel.