"The Losers" Kick Summer Movie Season Off with a Bang

After the trailer for “The Losers” debuted at the end of January, it picked up a new title in certain circles: “The A-Team That Isn’t Going to Suck.” Only time will tell which film is victorious at the box office but, rest assured, this summer promises to have to least one enjoyable movie about a crack team of former government operatives who, finding themselves on the wrong side of the law, are forced on missions anyone else would see as suicidal while the government tries to put them away. Phew, that’s a mouthful. (That’s what she said.)

Based on the graphic novel of the same name, “The Losers” combines over-the-top visceral action with humor and swagger. Bookended by cartoonish elements borrowed from the source material, the film’s tone is well established, but perhaps the best homage to the original novel is a no-hold-barred brawl between mysterious operative Aisha (2009 “It Girl” Zoe Saldana) and the leader of The Losers, Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan finally getting the leading role he deserves), that ends with a hotel room engulfed in flames. Yes, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is just that hot.


But I digress.


“The Losers” begins with a search-and-destroy mission deep in the Bolivian jungle that turns into a double-cross which kills 25 innocent children. Presumed dead, the only thing left for the band of rogues is to go deep undercover, find their betrayer and exact revenge. That’s where the real fun kicks in as Jason Patric turns in one of the most delightfully diabolic onscreen evil geniuses since Gerard Butler in last year’s “Law Abiding Citizen.”


On board with Aisha and Clay is his wing man Roque (the always enjoyable Idris Elba), tech whiz Jensen (Captain America himself, Chris Evans, looking like he got beat with the ugly stick), sniper Cougar (a near mute but compelling Oscar Jaenada), and Pooch (surprisingly enjoyable and charismatic Columbus Short) the man who can captain anything with an engine.


“The Losers” is a pop-y, pulp-y tongue-in-cheek wink at the action genre that’s full of flash and fun, priming audience for Summer Blockbuster Season where your brain gets some time off and movie theaters are flooded with mindless, explosive, rollicking glee.

Zoe Saldana and Jeffrey Dean Morgan Talk Love Scenes and the A-List

When will Jeffrey Dean Morgan finally get the leading man cred' he deserves?

That was the pink elephant in the room at the press day of his new film, "The Losers," co-starring Zoe Saldana, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Columbus Short and Jason Patric.

Morgan, who some movie goers will know and love as Denny Duquette, while others see him as The Comedian, joked when asked if this was his year to get enough attention to break onto the A-List, "I thought my year was coming until Zoe's year came," he laughs. "Now I'm just riding her coattails."

In their new film, Saldana and Morgan have a complicated, volatile, violent and seductive relationship which goes from a bare-knuckle brawl that leaves a hotel room engulfed in flames to a slo-mo love scene featuring a whole lot of Saldana's skin.

Asked which was more difficult to shoot, Morgan hoots with laughter.

"The love scene, yeah, that was hard," he scoofs. "I had a rough day that day. [I was like,] 'I need another take. Come on. I don't feel like she flipped her hair right on that one.' Technically, the fight was much harder, both physically and trying to get the tone of what we needed to accomplish in that scene. Yeah, the love scene? Bring that on! I had Zoe Saldana sitting on my lap, naked."

Saldana, once her hysterical laughter subsides, continues, "It helps when you get along with the actor and that Jeffrey was such a gentleman and so respectful because, trust me, as a woman, try doing that with a friggin' prick. Been there. It's not a good day at work. You're the only one who's naked and you have to act like you're not aware that you're naked. [But] when you work with a good director and a good actor, then it's just another Tuesday and love scenes are just like fight scenes."

"The Losers" opens April 23.

Zoe Saldana, a "Loser" Who Saves the Day

Give this girl an RPG over a cookie sheet any day.

After star-solidifying turns in "Avatar" and "Star Trek" last year, Zoe Saldana has proven she can hang with the big boys.

At last weekend's press day for her new film, "The Losers," or, as we like to call it, "The A-Team That Doesn't Suck," the actress, a silver of a woman whose striking beauty is belied by her gregarious convivial personality, says she loves being the only girl in the cast, even if it means pushing well beyond her limits.

As the lone actress on several testosterone-driven sets recently, Saldana says, "I almost feel like you have twice as much work to do because you don't want to be singled out. If you're the one who says 'I can't do this,' everyone's going to say 'She's wimping out because she's a girl.' I really wanted to impress the guys." Plus, she says with a Cheshire Cat grin, "I like being around men. I think I can hold my own."

After her turn as The Losers' resident "bad ass chick," don't expect Saldana to take on the damsel-in-distress role as a follow up.

"I feel that Hollywood has made a living portraying women to be such canker sores," she says, her face crinkling in disgust. "We have to be rescued all the time because we're so incompetent. Art need to reflect what's going on in real life. I'm from Queens in the 80s. Women were the care takers and they were the soldiers. I like holding a gun and participating in the saving of the day. I think it's really sexy. It kind of [reminds me of] my mom."

"The Losers" opens April 23.