THE LOSERS review

"The Losers" is a slam-bang globetrotting modern action movie based upon a comic book series from DC Comics' edgy mature readers imprint, Vertigo. Vertigo, the banner of Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" and the current home of Harvey Pekar ("American Splendor"), has managed to shed the forced-weirdness manacles of its early years to truly become one of most well rounded, creator-friendly and respectable imprints in all of comics. That said, I haven't read a whole lot of Andy Diggle & Jock's "The Losers", but I certainly hope that this film adaptation is not indicative of their printed work. If "The Losers" has been a smart property in comic form, this adaptation pushes that smartness so far that it turns the bend into stupidity. Smoldering, charred irony on top of irony is what this movie is all about. Sure, we've seen plenty of outrageous action movies with the modus operandi of satirizing of action movies, but "The Losers" moves beyond that, into a murky realm of irony so ironic that it's almost straight again. It's as though the filmmakers may not even realize it. To make this case, I will examine one admitted minor aspect of the film: Chris Evans singing an irritatingly ubiquitous pop song.
I never suspected that I'd have to do this as a result of a gritty-yet-slick overblown action movie about an uneasy pack of renegade hardcore combat experts, but here goes: I am officially declaring a moratorium on the song "Don't Stop Believin'", by Journey. The song's infamous appearance on "The Sopranos" finale should've been its pop culture zenith. After David Chase had his way with it, no one else should've dared to touch it ever again. But instead, it's only gone the other way. The ultra-catchy, cheesy 1980s anthem about rollin' the dice one last time has gone from ironic revival to an often-unseen level beyond that. The song has become so ubiquitous as an ironic anthem (karaoke and otherwise) that many of the participants in the irony now have themselves convinced that this is actually a GREAT song, and even more disturbing, that Journey is one of best bands of all time. Clearly, this is a pet peeve of mine.

So just imagine my thrill when Chris Evans (who is only in comic book movies, this time playing a computer geek), infiltrates a corporate high-rise in plain sight while shrieking his own rendition of the song. Of course many in the audience giggled and sang along in recognition. I even heard murmurings of "Hey, it's that song! I love that song!" Um, no you don't. You only think you love that song. It's a hollow infatuation at best. Likewise, Chris Evans' character may seem funny as he dorks his way through this movie, but his appeal is built upon his exuding an annoying charm that stems from the type of geekiness that got our butts kicked when I was growing up. But nowadays, for better or for worse, we have a whole generation who've grown up never knowing this threat, and have had the freedom to wear their geekdom as a badge of coolness. So when Chris Evans shriek-sings "Don't Stop Believin'" in "The Losers" while breaking-and-entering, it not only makes me admittedly irritated with jealousy, it unintentionally signifies a perceived imperviousness on the part of the character - not because he's part of a lethal squad of do-gooders, but because he's just that ignorant. And, the movie lets him have his kitschy cake and eat it too.

Of course, in this film, one of his fellow badass teammates probably would've gladly gut punched Evans' character for his singing, had they shared the scene with him. But nonetheless, this kind of Journey-singing beyond-ironic hollow geek-cool is the foundation that "The Losers" is built upon. Persistent gaudily-colored decay, entire scenes lit with intrusive, primary colors, unmotivated handheld camerawork, and reckless use of slo-mo make this the exact kind of film that give comic book movies a bad name. If this film is about anything other than ironic hipness and style, I don't know what that would be. Clearly there is an audience for this kind of pointless video game aesthetic, since this is far from the first time we've had to endure a sub-standard post-Michael Bay action flick. (The inept and forgettable Mark Wahlberg film "The Big Hit" kept coming mind while I was watching "The Losers".) But truth be told, we've yet to see a really great film or filmmaker emerge from this type to aesthetic. Maybe David Fincher or Tony Scott approach this kind of vision in competent ways from time to time, but even for them at their worst, there's considerably more to it than mere visceral impact for its own sake.

In this film, Jason Patrick plays Max, an evil CIA nut job out to steal an environmentally safe weapon of mass destruction. He has the kind of warped charisma we haven't seen in an action movie villain maybe since "Under Siege 2", and he wears an American flag lapel pin. (Get it? MORE irony!) He wants to kill a lot of people as part of his diabolical scheme, but whenever he takes a life onscreen, it is to the audience's amusement. Not even the bystanders in the scenes care. Hence, the greatest irony in a movie built on a foundation of irony is that the Losers are fighting to save humanity in a film where human life has no value. That may sound like an interesting premise, but it is purely accidental in this film.

For a sizable portion of the audience, "Don't Stop Believin'" will likely be the highlight of the film, the one thing they remember the day after seeing it. But in reality, the newfangled popularity of "Don't Stop Believin'" is indicative of everything that's not only wrong with a movie like this, but the worst aspects of popular culture. A glance, "The Losers" is a perfectly passable brainless action flick. Jeffery Dean Morgan is coolly dangerous, and Zoe Saldana is hot... and of course dangerous. Lots of stuff blows up real good, and the plot keeps you guessing. At least, it keeps you wondering. Some may argue that it doesn't set out to be anything more than what it is. But I would counter-argue that we have reason to expect more than just a harbinger of Fox's "The A-Team" from a big-budget adaptation of a Vertigo comic book. Some may say that it's silly of me to expect anything resembling honest depth from an action movie this close to summer. But in this age of quality comic book films like "Iron Man" and "The Dark Knight", the real fans and film buffs know to don't stop belivin'. (Maybe I should rephrase that...)

- Jim Tudor