The Losers parents guide

The Losers Parent Guide

I have to wonder if someone at the ratings board slept through the screening of "The Losers" in order for this film to walk away with a PG-13 rating instead of being slapped with an R.

Overall D+

Colonel Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is the commander of a group of tough special operatives, known as The Losers. When they find themselves stranded in Bolivia and accused of the death of innocent children, the team determines to do whatever it takes to clear their names. This movie is based on a comic series by Andrew Diggle.

Release date April 23, 2010

Violence D
Sexual Content C-
Profanity D+
Substance Use C-

Why is The Losers rated PG-13? The MPAA rated The Losers PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence, a scene of sensuality and language.

Run Time: 97 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

I have to wonder if someone at the ratings board slept through the screening of The Losers in order for this film to walk away with a PG-13 rating instead of being slapped with an R. The movie is peppered with profanities (and other scatological slang), riddled with gunfire (resulting in seemingly hundreds of dead secondary characters) and includes a racy sexual encounter between one of the Losers and a mysterious woman.

In the story, Colonel Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is the commander of a group of tough special operatives, known as The Losers. They have been sent into the Bolivian jungle to locate a drug dealer (Peter Francis James) and lock a target on him for an air missile strike. Just after the coordinates are sent, Clay and his men see a busload of children arriving in the compound. Immediately the soldiers request a mission abort but someone named Max (Jason Patric) jams the communication line. With their request denied, the five men dash down the mountain and rescue the kids just before the blast hits.

Their heroic attempts, however, are all for naught when a helicopter (meant for Clay’s group) is blown up while transporting the children to safety. Determined now to find the man who interfered with their mission, Clay and his men Pooch (Columbus Short), Cougar (Óscar Jaenada), Roque (Idris Elba) and Jensen (Chris Evans) start planning their revenge. In the meantime, they are stuck in Bolivia, assumed to be dead by the U.S. Military and accused of causing the children’s deaths.

Their luck seems to change for the better when a woman named Aisha (Zoe Saldana) approaches the men. She offers to arrange for their return to the States as well as finance an operation to find and kill Max. Unsure of her motives, some of the men have apprehensions about accepting her money. Clay, on the other hand, is willing to go along, especially after sharing a steamy night of intimacy with her.

Based on a comic book, this theatrical adaptation comes with lots of chemistry between the characters that provide the lighter moments in this action-packed war story. Unfortunately the comic-style violence doesn’t translate well to the screen. The tongue-in-cheek humor becomes tasteless when a woman is murdered for simply tripping in the sand and another man is thrown from a 57-story building. In addition to the army of characters that are killed by bullets or explosions, one man is sucked into a jet engine and another has his eye poked out during a scuffle. The production also shows bloody injuries and a man who is able to scale a large building even after being shot in both legs. Along with the rapid-fire profanities, this script contains racial slurs and depictions of Max mocking the accent and morals of a foreign ethnic group.

With the storyline left wide open for a sequel, this is likely not the last we’ll see of Clay and his cohorts. Yet before these comic book heroes can become role models for family viewers, there will need to be a major revamping of these Losers.

Directed by Sylvain White. Starring Idris Elba, Zoe Saldana, Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Running time: 97 minutes. Theatrical release April 23, 2010. Updated

The Losers
Rating & Content Info

Why is The Losers rated PG-13? The Losers is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for sequences of intense action and violence, a scene of sensuality and language.

Frequent scenes of automatic gunfire, explosions and blood injuries are seen. Characters are shot or have guns pointed at them. Characters fight with knives. Air missiles strike both a housing compound and a helicopter carrying children. A man and woman engage in a brutal hand-to-hand fight, throwing furniture and bottles, along with punching and kicking. A man is thrown over the side of a tall building (the sound of his body hitting the ground is heard). A man’s eye is poked out during a fight. Another man is sucked into a jet engine causing the plane to explode. An injured character licks the blood from his wound. Characters are mocked for their moral beliefs. Men bet on a chicken fight. Characters drink on numerous occasions. One man inhales a substance through a water pipe and appears to be high. Portrayals of sexual activity include extended scenes of passionate kissing and embracing. A woman removes her bra (exposing her bare back) and a couple is shown lying together after sex. A puppet show includes the depiction of animal copulation. Girls are seen in bikinis and other skimpy clothing. A man appears to nuzzle a shirtless doll. Sexual innuendo and comments are also included. Frequent scatological slang, profanities, some terms of Deity and a strong sexual expletive are used in the script.

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The Losers Parents' Guide

The antagonist in this film is played in a dark, comedic fashion. In one scene, he shoots a woman in the head for not holding his umbrella correctly. In another, he has a man pushed off a building for not following his instructions. He continues to use excessive violence throughout the story. All of these actions are intended to create humor. Do you feel they are, or do they take away from other funny, non-violent moments in the film? Would the movie be more or less entertaining without these portrayals?

This same antagonist also wears a US flag on his lapel. What statement is being made about US citizens by portraying this character in this fashion? When he mocks members of another nationality by mimicking their accent, do you think audiences will understand this behavior is incorrect because he is the "bad guy?" or does he only act to reinforce existing cultural stereotypes?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of The Losers movie is July 20, 2010. Here are some details…

The Losers releases to DVD and Blu-ray on July 20, 2010.

The Losers on DVD comes with the following extras:

- Zoe and the Losers (How Zoe Saldana held her own and relished mixing with the adrenaline-junkie guy cast)

The Losers releases on Blu-ray in a Combo Pack (Blu-ray disc, DVD and Digital Copy). Bonus materials include:

- Zoe and the Losers (How Zoe Saldana held her own and relished mixing with the adrenaline-junkie guy cast

- Band of Buddies: Ops Training (Intensive training sessions by military advisor and ex-navy seal Harry Humphries)

- The Losers: Action-Style Storytelling (The Losers writer Andy Diggle and artist Jock on how they developed the original comic series)

- Close-up look at the action sequences

- Transforming Puerto Rico as a strand-in for several global locations

- Deleted Scenes

- Sneak Peek   Batman: Under the Hood

- DVD and Digital Copy.

Related home video titles:

Chris Evans who plays Jensen in this film stars as another comic character in Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Zoe Saldara puts in performances in both Star Trek and Avatar.