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THE LOSERSMovie Reviews
Action thriller about a team of mercenaries who are purposely stranded in the Bolivian jungle while on a black ops mission and decide to get even with the man who hung them out to dry. Cast:Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, Jason Patric, Zoe Saldana, Idris ElbaDirector:Sylvain WhiteRelease Date:April 23, 2010DVD Release:July 20, 2010From:Warner Bros.Rating:PG-13Length:1 hr. 37 min.
The Losers played to mixed reviews. • Alynda Wheat wrote in People, "Evans and Short deliver the funny, while Morgan and Elba prove action stars can also have acting chops. A word of caution: Ignore the glaring plot holes..." • And Josep Parera wrote in La Opinion, "La historia es sólo una excusa para que el director orqueste un conjunto de escenas de acción absolutamente sobresalientes, hilarantes y explosivas." More Reviews Below...
The Losers Positive Reviews (43 Reviews, reviews below)
Alynda Wheat, People: VERY GOOD(cg) "Evans and Short deliver the funny, while Morgan and Elba prove action stars can also have acting chops. A word of caution: Ignore the glaring plot holes..."(See all of Alynda Wheat's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 142 words, 04/22/10
Glenn Whipp, Associated Press: WEAK(cg) "...speaks to the filmmakers' utter lack of imagination as well as the busy smugness with which they offer their smorgasbord of nothingness.... all noise, no substance."(See all of Glenn Whipp's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 533 words, 04/22/10
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a pulp action rouser based on a comic-book series, but it's derivative of many other sources -- basically, it's 'The A-Team' meets 'Rambo' meets 'Mission: Impossible'..."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 217 words, 04/23/10
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...say this for director Sylvain White's movie version of the DC/Vertigo comic-book series... this baby knows how to laugh at itself."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 267 words, 04/30/10
Claudia Puig, USA Today: MODERATE(cg) "...has a few funny scenes, but a lot more foolish ones. It tries to be stylish but is more often just trashy-trendy. Drenched in violence, it should have gotten an R rating."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 534 words, 04/23/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: WEAK "...the only thing that distinguishes this iteration from those of yore is that the violence is more explicit, the edits are faster, and no one has a stogie stuck in his kisser..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 865 words, 04/23/10
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: POOR(cg) "The standoff, the last-minute precision shot, the villain who explains it all, the surprise turncoat -- check, check, double-check.... simply a lot of low blows..."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 412 words, 04/23/10
Kyle Smith, New York Post: POOR(cg) "...the characters often look like they're walking in front of drive-in-size screens upon which the digital artists have scribbled orange detonation clouds."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 543 words, 04/23/10
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "We're about as far from the quasi-lefty 'Bourne' franchise as a moviegoer can get.... it's smirks and sub-James Bond-level wisecracks all around."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 464 words, 04/23/10
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a not-totally-guilty pleasure.... sends up pulp clichés but also indulge them, puncturing shootouts with wisecracks, then wisecracks about the wisecracks."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 312 words, 04/23/10
Dan Kois, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "...strains to achieve the pleasurable mix of cheap laughs and expensive action that 'Lethal Weapon' pulled off effortlessly with the help of its stellar cast."(See all of Dan Kois's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 629 words, 04/21/10
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: MODERATE(cg) "...looks as though it was shot in a hurry on the basis of information gleaned from 'The A-Team' trailer (or the 1980s TV series that spawned it)..."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 613 words, 04/23/10
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "Providing expectations are kept low, there's some fun to be had in the elaborately preposterous action set-pieces, and especially Jason Patric's campy performance..."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 599 words, 04/23/10
Josep Parera, La Opinion: VERY GOOD(cg) "La historia es sólo una excusa para que el director orqueste un conjunto de escenas de acción absolutamente sobresalientes, hilarantes y explosivas."(See all of Josep Parera's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 330 words, 04/23/10
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "There's something almost admirable about 'The Losers,' a movie that has absolutely no pretensions of being anything more than an engaging time-waster..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 355 words, 04/22/10
KEY CITIES (14 Reviews)
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: MODERATE(cg) "How dumb is it? You might actually kill a few million brain cells just watching it.... It's dumb, adrenalized fun, filled with flying knives, broken glass, fireballs, guns..."(See all of Michael O'Sullivan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 454 words, 04/23/10
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: MODERATE(cg) "...the script is boilerplate, the wit pretty much witless.... Director Sylvain White shows himself adept at the action stuff..."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 457 words, 04/23/10
Mick LaSalle, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: MODERATE(cg) "...if you're ever stuck watching this movie, a way to get through it is to imagine every character is 8 years old. Then 'The Losers' comes into focus."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 657 words, 04/23/10
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...a stupid, over-the-top comic-booky action picture... Chris Evans and a couple of his mates make it passable entertainment."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 456 words, 04/23/10
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: MODERATE(cg) "...does a perfectly serviceable job of achieving its low ambitions.... big, silly, loud and uneven, never pretending to be anything more than that or, evidently, wanting to be."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 593 words, 04/23/10
Tom Maurstad, Dallas Morning News: EXCELLENT(cg) "At its best, 'The Losers' is silly, smart and sharp all at the same time. It's at its best often enough to declare these losers (wheeze, groan) a winner."(See all of Tom Maurstad's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 597 words, 04/23/10
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: POOR(cg) "...there aren't enough exciting moments to satisfy the action crowd. Instead, we get paint by numbers shoot-'em-ups that bear a bland resemblance to TV cop shows."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 398 words, 04/23/10
Jeff Shannon, Seattle Times: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...what makes this generic rehash a treat for action fans? One word: casting.... redeems itself with comedic camaraderie delivered by a well-chosen batch of rising stars."(See all of Jeff Shannon's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 360 words, 04/23/10
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: GOOD(cg) "...has the benefit of not trying terribly hard to be about much of anything and succeeding... Boom-boom, bang-bang, and even kiss-kiss it goes..."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 637 words, 04/23/10
Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: WEAK(cg) "Morgan is like a cheap knockoff of George Clooney. Both the karate-kicking Saldana and the hot-dogging Evans may prove guilty of knee-capping their careers."(See all of Joe Williams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 374 words, 04/23/10
Steve Persall, St. Petersburg Times: MODERATE(cg) "...essentially a run-of-the-thrill action flick with dashes of animation reminding viewers that, yes, this comes from a comic book, too. That's just about the only way to tell."(See all of Steve Persall's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 487 words, 04/22/10
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (7 Reviews)
Dan Kois, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "...strains to achieve the pleasurable mix of cheap laughs and expensive action that 'Lethal Weapon' pulled off effortlessly with the help of its stellar cast."(See all of Dan Kois's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 629 words, 04/21/10
Scott Tobias, AV Club: POOR(cg) "There's nothing wrong with style for its own sake, but 'The Losers' works so strenuously to be cool at every moment that it can only be anything but."(See all of Scott Tobias's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 355 words, 04/22/10
Norman Wilner, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "There's something almost admirable about 'The Losers,' a movie that has absolutely no pretensions of being anything more than an engaging time-waster..."(See all of Norman Wilner's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 355 words, 04/22/10
Edward Adams, Atlanta Creative Loafing: WEAK(cg) "...thumbs up for delivering a satisfying mashup of explosive action and light-hearted fun, but hands down, it sorely lacks the glue to sensibly hold the whole thing together."(See all of Edward Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 843 words, 04/21/10
Tricia Olszewski, Washington City Paper: POOR "...all fireballs and flat characters... humor that doesn't aim much higher than, say, a cut to a chihuahua bobblehead in terms of sophistication."(See all of Tricia Olszewski's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 360 words, 04/22/10
HIGHBROW PRESS (3 Reviews)
John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...truly ridiculous... grossly overdone... a movie that takes bilious joy in its own soullessness.... wastes the riches of Hollywood technology in hot pursuit of nothing."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 732 words, 04/23/10
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: WEAK "...the only thing that distinguishes this iteration from those of yore is that the violence is more explicit, the edits are faster, and no one has a stogie stuck in his kisser..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 865 words, 04/23/10
Peter Debruge, Daily Variety: WEAK "...the sort of pyro-heavy exercise parodied in 'Tropic Thunder,' and no amount of production polish can hide the hollowness beneath its junk-food high."(See all of Peter Debruge's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 798 words, 04/21/10
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: WEAK "...a cartoonish nonstop action movie... The film never is boring, but it's never engaging, either... it never seems to get anywhere."(See all of Kirk Honeycutt's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 626 words, 04/21/10
Patrick Z. McGavin, Cinema 24/7: POOR(cg) "Everything about 'The Losers' feels either secondary or desperate... The fact that it promises more to come is the most terrifying and unwelcome thought of all."(See all of Patrick Z. McGavin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 827 words, 04/21/10
Manohla Dargis, New York Times: WEAK "...the only thing that distinguishes this iteration from those of yore is that the violence is more explicit, the edits are faster, and no one has a stogie stuck in his kisser..."(See all of Manohla Dargis's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 865 words, 04/23/10
John Anderson, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...truly ridiculous... grossly overdone... a movie that takes bilious joy in its own soullessness.... wastes the riches of Hollywood technology in hot pursuit of nothing."(See all of John Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 732 words, 04/23/10
23.1 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
The Losers's reviews are separated by an average 23.1 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
The Losers (43 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:The Losers's reviews cover 78.4% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 21,943 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 510 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
The Losers Coverage, Volume & Length (43 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 0.6 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
The Losers's reviews on average broke 0.6 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is The Losers's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
The Losers (43 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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