The Losers
It's tempting to say that the real losers of this film are not the titular soldiers on the run, but the audience who paid to watch them. There are enough bright spots littered throughout the 100min running time to avoid truly earning that statement, but only just.
The film suffers from 2 major flaws: an uncertain tone that lurches from exciting if unoriginal action to comedy that rarely elicits more than a smirk, and Jason Patric. Jason Patric, when you absolutely, positively have to kill every last mother&*%$^! franchise in the room. The man is either on autopilot, playing the whole thing for laughs (badly) or attempting to paint the main villain as utterly bonkers insane. I'm not sure which I'd prefer to be true.
Chris Evans gets the most genuine laughs, doing his best with a weak script that I can't believe Peter-Friday Night Lights-Berg had anything to do with. Oscar Jaenada in the role of the quiet but lethal sniper Cougar comes off as the coolest of the cast, getting the job done with no fuss, no frills, and no unnecessary banter. Jeffery Dean Morgan, the actor I was most looking forward to in this, somehow fails to click, though that may be more the script and director's fault than his. Speaking of which, the director is clearly form the Zack Snyder school of slow motion film making, though even Zack would avoid some of the painful to watch ott uses of the technique on display here.
As to the rest, Zoe Saldana does what she can with a limit role, bringing the toughness we've come to expect from her to an underwritten character, and Idris-Stringer Bell-Elba comes loaded with simmering hostility and the most naturalistic (for this film anyway) performance of the bunch.
2/5
Rounders
Promotional art can be a tricky thing. It gets audiences into your movie but it also sets up certain expectations. Rounders' for instance suggests a Matt Damon and Edward Norton two hander about poker. The poker part is true, but this is Damon's show through and through. Norton is in the film for a fair chunk of the running time, but I doubt the role would have shared top billing if it had been a lesser actor in his place. Norton is, as ever, excellent, crafting a broken and intriguing character, always one screw up away from salvation. Damon has the harder part, having to maintain a poker face most of the time whilst also making you care about his character's journey. That he succeeds is in no small part to his natural charisma despite a number of choices that will make you shake your head. Loaning a gambling addict money is one thing. Vouching for him to a guy with mob ties, now that's all kinds of stupid.
Overall the characters and narrative are engrossing, with elegant lighting and direction throughout, every poker table bathed in a warm orange glow. The film is not without its flaws however. The final third loses focus and ends up repeating many of the issues and arguments that we've head before. Passion verses expectations. Straight up or mechanics. The denouement feels unsatisfying, with much left unresolved and our hero's ultimate fate uncertain.
Of course, no review would be complete without a word on John Malkovich. Some character actors play it small, disappearing inside a quiet, nuanced role. Malkovich is not that actor. And when you combine him with a Russian accent thicker than Borscht, you have a recipe for unintentional hilarity. That the film survives is a testament to the other cast and crew.
3.5/5
