Folks, have we talked in sufficient detail about my love for deeply mediocre action movies? Because I love them a lot. I like independent movies when they elevate actors I think deserve more work or themes that deserve more attention; I certainly appreciate good cinematography, although I'm not incredibly sophisticated about camerawork--Zodiac and Public Enemies are about my speed, which I guess means I am sometimes a sucker for digital; and I am not immune to the lure of a dumb romantic comedy. But there is a scene in Primary Colors (the novel, not the movie) when one of the characters says to another "Well, what do you want, Henry? Bodu Saved from Drowning? Let's see something great and crappy and kinetic," which pretty much describes a lot of my moviegoing philosophy. In other words, The Losers is tailor-made for me:
It's one of those semi-dumb ensemble comedies with theoretical twists that ride on the momentum of the action, and on the charm of its lead actors, which here means Idris Elba and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and is therefore considerable. I'm even willing to give Chris Evans the benefit of the doubt for the scene where he KILLS PEOPLE WITH FINGER GUNS. One thing I will say, though, is that I always wish these movies, whether it's this, or Wanted, or Mr. & Mrs. Smith or TV shows, be it Chuck or Burn Notice, had more than one woman who could totally kick ass in them.
I think one of the reasons the rebooted Charlie's Angels franchise did as well as it did is because a genuine hunger exists among women who love action movies to see representations of themselves on the screen. I seriously can't believe that James Cameron is the only power player in Hollywood who recognizes this, who understands that women can be more than token chicks in action flicks. I can't even begin to explain how much money I would spend on repeat viewings of a movie starring, say, Angelina Jolie, Zoe Saldana and Sigourney Weaver as mercenaries, or soldiers, or ass-kicking spies, or anything that let them blow shit up, hang out, and not have to have a damn slumber party afterwards. Although slumber parties can be fun, too.