The Losers

In the Bolivian jungle, special forces ops have scoped out a narcotics kingpin's hacienda in preparation for launching a military air strike—at least until they discover that the sneaky drug lord has just brought in a busload of 25 children to use as his drug mules. Unit leader Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan)—along with explosives expert Roque (Idris Elba), sniper Cougar (Óscar Jaenada), computer specialist Jensen (Chris Evans), and transport whiz Pooch (Columbus Short)—advises command to abort the mission, but a mysterious CIA phone voice, known only as Max (Jason Patric), not only doesn't care but also sets the team up for slaughter. Presumed dead, the five expendable “losers”—now fugitives—vow revenge and are bankrolled by a sexy mystery lady named Aisha (Zoe Saldana). Meanwhile in Dubai, psychopathic Max has arranged to buy “snukes” (aka sonic dematerializer nuclear weapons) to use for his own nefarious purposes. Of course, a heinous double-cross waits in the wings. Based on characters developed by DC Comics/Vertigo's Andy Diggle, filmmaker Sylvain White's aptly-named film takes a blood-splattering sledgehammer approach to the confusing story, which is presented with senseless rapid-fire editing. Optional, at best. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “Zoe and the Losers” featurette on actress Zoe Saldana (6 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a few “Band of Buddies: Ops Training” production featurettes (17 min. total), an “Action-Style Storytelling” featurette on comic series writer Andy Diggle and artist Jock (11 min.), a brief deleted scene, a sneak peek at the upcoming straight-to-video animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood (14 min,), and the BD-Live function, as well as bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a lame film.] (S. Granger)