The Losers

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Violent but quirky movie aimed at teen comic book fans.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this often funny action movie -- based on a comic book series from 2003-06 -- is filled with comic book-style violence, with lots of guns, knives, slo-mo fight scenes, and explosions. The movie centers on a group of ex-soldiers who are betrayed and left for dead; part of their motivation is problem-solving and part is revenge. The movie features strong, but infrequent language (one use of "f--k" and several uses of "s--t"), and a non-explicit, though highly stylized sexual scene. Without any huge teen-appeal stars (aside from Avatar's Zoe Saldana), the movie will mostly appeal to die-hard comic book fans and action junkies.

  • Though there are some examples of triumphing over the odds and teamwork, the violence of the movie is constant and lighthearted -- sending some unrealistic and potentially confusing messages about weapons and violence.
  • Though some of the team members keep dangerous secrets from one another and occasionally hurt one another physically, for the most part the team's trust for one another is commendable. Clay, the leader, acts partly out of revenge, but he very clearly has a humanitarian side too. He races into intense danger to rescue some children, and puts the welfare of his men before his own mission.
  • The movie is filled with extreme comic book violence, including fistfights, kung fu fights, shootouts, knife fights, bullet wounds, blood spurts, dead bodies, and giant explosions. (One explosion is more like an implosion that wipes an entire island off the earth.) The villain is an unscrupulous arms dealer who is looking for the latest destructive technology -- "snukes" -- to sell to the highest bidder. Most notably, the bad guy blows up a helicopter filled with kids (only seen from the outside). There are also brief images of a cockfight (a gory gambling event in which two roosters are placed in a ring and made to fight one another to the death).
  • Two main characters have sex; the scene shows them kissing and removing clothes in a glossy, slow-motion scene, and then lying together under the covers afterward, but no nudity and nothing explicit. Zoe Saldana wears a series of very sexy outfits. Several women in bikinis appear as "window dressing" and/or playthings for certain characters. One character wears a suggestive t-shirt depicting a woman eating a hot dog. Chris Evans changes clothes in an elevator and is caught by four women, who gaze at him approvingly. We also see a shadow puppet play of two godzillas having sex.
  • "F--k" is heard once, and "s--t" is used several times, though language in general is fairly infrequent. Other words include: "hell," "Oh my God," "anal," "balls," "dick," "ass," "son of a bitch," and "Goddamn it."
  • A helicopter crashes into a huge Dunkin' Donuts sign.
  • Clay and Aisha drink in a bar, including downing a shot of tequila in one gulp. Aisha brings a bottle of liquor to Clay's room, but they don't drink it. Later, characters open a bottle of champagne and drink.

What's the story?

After a routine mission goes terribly wrong, a five-man CIA special ops team, led by Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), is left for dead in Bolivia. Worse, they have discovered that the mysterious, evil "Max" was in charge. Stranded and out of options, they choose to trust newcomer Aisha (Zoe Saldana), who promises to return them to the United States in exchange for the death of Max. The downside is that Max is very highly protected and virtually unkillable. Worse, hardly anything is as it seems, no one can be trusted, and THE LOSERS must rely on their heaviest firepower just to survive. Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, and Oscar Jaenada make up the rest of the team.


Is it any good?

 

Directed by Sylvain White (Stomp the Yard), The Losers has the brisk, breezy energy of a good "B" movie; the pace never lags and the action -- with the help of lots of tongue-in-cheek slow-motion footage -- looks terrific. The cast is immensely likeable, and they all seem to click with one another, forming a tight-knit group whose camaraderie is infectious. It helps that the movie kicks off with the group charging into a danger zone to rescue 25 innocent kids.

Jason Patric turns in an interesting, offbeat performance as "Max," the elusive and powerful villain, relishing his terrible acts and looking forward to a world wiped clean by war weapons. To be sure, the violence in the movie is strong, and maintains a sexy undercurrent -- but it all remains securely in the comic-book realm, making it a fun, if edgy choice for teens.


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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about the violence in this movie. Was it disturbing or thrilling? What factors contribute to making violent scenes more or less intense? Were there any scenes that upset you? Why or why not?

  • The movie contains some stereotypical images of women as "arm candy," or playthings for male characters. Why do you think the filmmakers included this element? Do you think male and female viewers will react differently to these scenes?

  • How important is teamwork to the group's success? What are the challenges and rewards of teamwork in your own life?


This review was written by Jeffrey M. Anderson
Kid, 11 years old
July 28, 2010
 
The Losers
Pretty violent.

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Adult
January 9, 2011
 
a bad attempt again...........
2.5/5 After being betrayed and left for dead, members of a CIA black ops team root out those who targeted them for assassination. well this was the movie i didn't wanted to watch at first because i was so tired of watching these same old cliche plot movies again and again but towards the end of the year as their wasn't much available movies so i thought i will give it a try as a guilty pleasure silly no brainer action movie. it was silly and no brainer to a some extent, not much, which is good. the problem is that it isn't written well. suffers heavily from bad screenplay and not so good story and plot. some action scenes were good but there weren't many. it was cool action movie with very over the top action sequences which makes it only somewhat interesting to watch not much. to some way here and there the movie become very dull, empty and boring to watch. i wasn't expecting this from it. actors were ok. every one looked good though not any good performances of course. it was ok to watch. Skip it guys if u wan't.

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Kid, 11 years old
August 23, 2010
 
The Losers
The movie was very ineresting, and it had quite a bit of action. But it was still funny.

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Teen, 15 years old
April 26, 2010
 
Love it

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Teen, 17 years old
June 1, 2010
 
A good watch.
I thought it had an awesome story. It reminded me of Shooter a little bit. If you havent seen Shooter watch it that movie is awesome. Ok back to this movie. The action in this was good. It was a really good movie but I think I probably wont watch it again for awhile.

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Adult
August 18, 2010
 
The Losers will appeal to your older teens that are a fan of comic books but parents you need to know that the losers has a lot of intense violence also there are several sex scenes but no nudity shown and nothing explicit characters used strong language and there's some drinking such as downing a shot of tequila in one gulp and a bottle of liquor.

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Kid, 13 years old
July 26, 2010
 
fun action movie. There's just one slow motion sex scene. 9+ can handle it.

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Parent of 17 year old
July 27, 2010
 
Iffy elements but still fun to watch.
Entertaining action movie. Not too much strong violence accept for a scene at the end involving a motorcycle and plane. Another questionable element is that there is somewhat of a sex scene. Non nudity but is is pretty clear what they are doing.

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Kid, 12 years old
March 13, 2011
 
fine
its good but if they dont make sequel ill be mad

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Teen, 14 years old
March 13, 2011
 
fine
its good but if they dont make sequel ill be mad

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This review was written by Jeffrey M. Anderson
Studio:Warner Bros.
Director:Sylvain White
Cast:Chris Evans, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana
Genre:Action/Adventure
Run time:98 minutes
Theatrical release date:April 23, 2010
DVD release date:July 20, 2010
MPAA rating:PG-13
MPAA explanation:sequences of intense action and violence, a scene of sensuality and language

This review was written by Jeffrey M. Anderson
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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