The Losers: movie Discussion, Commentary, Grading **SPOILERS**

[Captain Craig]

THE LOSERS

based on the DC comics Vertigo series

I just got back in from seeing this. Used my Regal Rewards free pass this afternoon before it expired.

I grade the movie a B- overall

Losers has as a nuTrek tie the lovely Zoe Saldana and from Watchmen fame Jeffery Dean Morgan not to mention comic book actor of late Chris Evans(Human Torch/Captain America).

I liked our main cast and thought the intro and set up for them was good. The first early mistake, imo, was the arrival oa Aisha. Her acceptance by Clay with little inquiry would make me cautious. I also felt our baddie Max(Jason Patric) was a bit too mustache twirling. I've not read the comic so maybe that is spot on but I felt it jarring to everything else that was going on.

The story flowed well enough and the sequel setup is apparent. However with Iron Man 2(missed hosting that discussion thread by 6min dang it) opening on its heels this and Elm Street better make their money now.


Is anyone else planning to see it, if so what did you think?

**PS to Mods- I chose this forum cause its not sci/fi its a very real world film despite the characters origins being a comic book, move it if you must though**

 

[Lonemagpie]

Never heard of it.

<looks at cast list>

OK, when's it come out in the UK?

 

[Harvey]

I gave it a D+. As I posted in another thread:

The Losers: "That's what she said" passes as a one-liner in this movie, and it does so repeatedly. We're asked to believe that Zoe Saldana, who looks like she is about to implode, could not only physically threaten, but actually match Jeffrey Dean Morgan in combat. A character is shot in both knees, and a few hours later (without proper medical attention) is back on his feet. Another character is shot in the shoulder, and after a quick and dirty operation is climbing up and down walls with both hands. Jason Patric hams up the villain above and beyond the call of duty, and he escapes, which sucks just about all the satisfaction from the end of the movie. There are a few moments of joy (Chris Evans, though entirely unbelievable as a geek, can be rather funny) but they are too few. It's a low-rent version of the A-Team which seems even more unnecessary when the trailer for the A-Team remake plays before the movie.

 

[DarthPipes]

I thought it was average. I liked the cast and it featured some good action but I thought the whole thing, particularly storywise, wasn't that interesting.

Good point as well on some of the sillier aspects. Zoe Saldana character going toe-for-toe with Jeffrey Morgan Dean's character, a guy whose able to move with bullets in both of his legs, etc. Chris Evans seems to be playing the same character he was in Fantastic Four. That made for a good Johnny Storm but doesn't inspire confidence for Captain America.

 

[DarKush]

I give it a C.

I liked it better than I thought I would. It was an enjoyable, though largely forgettable (to be perfectly honest) popcorn action flick. I read the TPB and the movie is lighter in tone. I'm not sure if the lighter tone served the film better or not.

As another poster mentioned, there are some things that defy belief like one character getting shot in both legs but later on scaling a wall. But I didn't think Evans was redoing Johnny Storm in this film. His Storm was much more narcissistic. His character, Jensen, was more jokey. But I thought the casting was pretty good, they all favored their comic incarnations, except for Idris Elba; in the book Roque was white. Though Zoe Saldana's character was Afghan in the book, from the drawings, Zoe sort of favored her. Jason Patric played an off-putting villain. For the most part I thought his sarcastic sense of humor worked.

And it was very nice to see Zoe switching around in tight pants and crawling around in her underwear, though I still think she needs a bit more meat on her bones. If you're expecting resolution in the film, you'll be disappointed. It was made with a sequel in mind, but due to the weak box office, I don't know if that's going to happen. Which is a shame because I thought it was better than its box office.

 

[Captain Craig]

The Losers: ...a low-rent version of the A-Team which seems even more unnecessary when the trailer for the A-Team remake plays before the movie.

I thought that as I was watching it but did not get the A-Team trailer in front of my viewing.
You literally could place every A-member with a Loser.

If you're expecting resolution in the film, you'll be disappointed. It was made with a sequel in mind, but due to the weak box office, I don't know if that's going to happen. Which is a shame because I thought it was better than its box office.

It's budget apparently wasn't that much, $25 million. Sequel may be seen yet cause its made $18million so far.

 

[Harvey]

$18 million on a $25 million budget just isn't enough to make a sequel viable. Given the weak reviews, and the weak opening which is sure to be even further displaced by the impending release of Iron Man 2, profitability won't happen at the box office.

Assuming an advertising budget of $15 million, a 50/50 exhibitor-distributor split of the box office, and that none of the cast or crew earned a percentage of the gross, the movie would have to earn $80 million before turning a profit. And that seems unlikely, especially since weak box office almost always indicate weak sales on video and other ancillary markets (mainly, television).

 

[Captain Craig]

$18 million on a $25 million budget just isn't enough to make a sequel viable. Given the weak reviews, and the weak opening which is sure to be even further displaced by the impending release of Iron Man 2, profitability won't happen at the box office.

Assuming an advertising budget of $15 million, a 50/50 exhibitor-distributor split of the box office, and that none of the cast or crew earned a percentage of the gross, the movie would have to earn $80 million before turning a profit. And that seems unlikely, especially since weak box office almost always indicate weak sales on video and other ancillary markets (mainly, television).

You talk as if $18m is its final domestic total, let alone any worldwide receipts. You then assume a $15m budget to arrive at a conclusion that isn't ready to be ascertained. A small film like this to get a marketing budget over half of its production budget, doubtful.

Your one valid point, IM:2 opens and that is going to crush it US domestically, however its not opened globally where IM has already been opened. Whatever opens alongside it globally will be its competition.

It's higly possible it could not get a sequel but not cause it won't have done modestly well at the end of the spreadsheet.

 

[Harvey]

First, Box Office Mojo noted that Warner Bros. was giving a fairly strong marketing push (relative to the budget). $15 million isn't an unreasonable figure for such a push I don't think. But, yes, it's just an estimation.

Second, I didn't assume $18 million would be the final total foreign or domestic. My post indicated nothing of the kind. I simply posited that it's a poor place to start (it opened fourth at the box office to lukewarm reviews and was sixth in its second weekend) when Iron Man 2 is going to be opening the next weekend. The daily drop-off at the box office indicates that, domestically, it will top off at $30 million, if not less. There is, of course, worldwide gross to consider, but given the reviews and the weak word of mouth, do you think the film has $50 million of business in it? And that is just to break even.

I wasn't particularly fond of the film, but these are just numbers.

 

[Captain Craig]

...do you think the film has $50 million of business in it? And that is just to break even.

$50m worldwide, perhaps

I wasn't particularly fond of the film, but these are just numbers.

I won't be upset to never see an LOSERS follow-up either but it could be fun to follow the numbers just for laughs.

Its not a bad renter but $10.50 I wouldn't spend, glad I had a free ticket.

 

[auntiehill]

Hmmm. Hubby wanted to see this, but I think I'll just wait until it comes out on Netflix.

 

[Mooch]

I saw it, I thought it was pretty good. I haven't seen any of this so-called "marketing" though.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

I saw this second run last night. Pretty so-so. Points for style, but that's about it. Jeffery Dean Morgan kind sucks as the leader. The rest of the team is okay, but I never warm up to them.

Absurdly ruthless, and comic bookish, Jason Patric's baddie is either the high point or the lowest point of the film.

I think an R rating level of violence would've improved it. Whadda I know?

 

[T J]

Thought this movie totally sucked... was super glad I didn't have to pay to see it.

 

[Mr Light]

Just saw this on Blu Ray. I really liked it! Similar to the A-Team on many levels, even down to the climax in the shipyard containers. Good sense of humor, good direction, great action. And the plot twists actually completely surprised me! It's already got me reading the original comic now. Recommended!

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Blu-Ray. That was fast.

 

[Harvey]

Blu-Ray. That was fast.

Indeed. Continuing the discussion a couple of months later, the worldwide grosses were just under 28 million, so unless this sells like gangbusters on DVD, I wouldn't expect a sequel.

 

[DarthPipes]

Patrick Wilson's character in The A-Team was almost identical to Jason Petric's character in this film.

 

[Mr Light]

Yeah, there were a LOT of similarities to the A-Team movie. Special ops military team betrayed by their superiors, framed for a crime they didn't commit, go off to clear their name. Funny weird evil CIA bad guy who jokes around with his underlings. Finale takes place amongst huge shipping containers at a shipyard. Hell they even used the same van at one point