Does the average person actually think about movie marketing? The knee-jerk reaction would be to say no. But, the real knee-jerk reaction really comes from movie-goers who immediately say things like "First in line!" or "No way" when they see trailers. Marketing -- posters, trailers, TV spots, etc. -- can clearly have an effect on a movie's success. For example, look at the trailer for The Losers. Upon seeing the preview for the first time, I thought, "That story sounds a lot like The A-Team." And I get the feeling that I wasn't alone there. I don't know the exact reason why The Losers failed at the box-office, but my first guess would be that many filmgoers, especially in this economy said to themselves, "I'll wait six weeks until The A-Team opens." Well, I haven't see The A-Team, but I can tell you that everyone who hasn't seen The Losers yet should be kicking themselves.

The Losers introduces us to a special forces unit -- Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), Jensen (Chris Evans), Roque (Idris Elba), Pooch (Columbus Short), and Cougar (Oscar Jaenada). As the film opens, they are in Bolivia completing a mission which concerns a drug-lord. However, things go very awry when someone named Max (Jason Patric) double-crosses them. When the smoke clears, everyone thinks that the unit is dead. Convinced that they can't return to the U.S., the group stays in Bolivia, trying to come up with a plan. Clay meets Aisha (Zoe Saldana), a woman who claims that she too wants revenge on Max and agrees to help the team. The group is smuggled back into America and they begin waging a high-tech war on Max, whom they learn is attempting to acquire experimental weapons. However, secrets are soon revealed which will change everything, test allegiances, and put everyone in danger.

Like many, I went into The Losers knowing very little about the movie, other than the fact that I liked the cast and that it was based on a comic book. Much to my surprise, I discovered a movie which is a throwback to the action films of the 80s -- it's loud, fun, exciting, and funny.

Again, the story owes a great debt to The A-Team -- Perhaps this was a conscious move on the part of the creators of the original comic book. The story of solider who are forced to go rogue is hardly original and I can see how this would throw a lot of viewers. However, the basic nature of the central story allows the movie to branch out in different ways. Surprisingly, much of the movie focuses on the characters. The Losers features much more character development than most action films and we are allowed to really get to know everyone, save for Cougar, who remains an enigma on purpose. The emphasis on character makes the plot twists all the more surprising...well, one you will see coming, but the other caught me off-guard. The movie moves along at a nice pace and the story takes the group cross-country, so things don't get stale.

The movie also gets a huge boost from the cast. Chris Evans really steals the show here as the team member who has the least interest in combat. His performance has more to do with comedy than action and the scene in which he sings is a show-stopper. In fact, I'm convinced that the trailer should have simply been that scene and the movie would have been a hit. Jeffery Dean Morgan plays the kind of grizzled but laid back person that we've seen him play before, but this kind of character seems to fit him well. Idris Elba is great is his role as the intense Roque. We've seen Elba do intense before, but he also brings some playfulness to this role which is surprising. I guess that it's good to see Jason Patric getting work, but he plays Max as a bit too creepy and one can't help but wonder why nobody had killed this guy.

The Losers is one of those movies that I immediately wanted to watch again. It's been a while since I've seen a movie which was that much fun and from the beginning to the final scene, this is that rare movie which goes exactly where we want it to. Director Sylvain White gets a bit too flashy at times (there's a choppy shot of Morgan walking down a flight of stairs which is simply a time-waster), but he does a good job with the action scenes. I've read some negative comments about the movie on-line, some of which called the movie disappointing, and this makes me weep for the youth of America. The Losers is a great action-comedy which I'm sure will find its audience.

The Losers wears a pink t-shirt on Blu-ray Disc courtesy of Warner Home Video. The film has been letterboxed at 2.35:1 and the Disc contains a VC-1 1080p HD transfer which runs at an average of 28 Mbps. The image is very sharp and clear, showing only a mild amount of grain during the action sequences, and this is most likely a result of the photographic process used. There are no defects from the source materials. The colors are a bit diffused at times, but overall they look good and the image is never overly dark or bright. The level of detail is good, as is the depth. The Disc offers a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which runs at 48 kHz and an average of 4.0 Mbps. The track provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The stereo effects are great, as they show great separation and detail. The surround sound effects are nearly constant and bring the action scenes to life. Subwoofer action punctuates the gunshots and explosions. Overall, great sound.

The Losers Blu-ray Disc contains an assortment of extras. We get one DELETED SCENE which runs for 45 seconds and contains an interesting cameo which was cut from the film. (This scene was clearly meant to be a coda.) "Zoe and The Losers" (6 minutes) focuses on the actress who found herself surrounded by an otherwise all-male cast. She discusses her character and what it was like on the set. "Walk the Ops Walk" (6 minutes) looks at the military reality presented in the film and the training which the cast received. We learn how locations can be made to look like other places in "Transforming Puerto Rico" (5 minutes). "Going Deep into the Action" (6 minutes) takes us behind the scenes into the action scenes and we see how some of the stunts were done. "The Losers: Action-Style Storytelling" (10 minutes) contains interviews with Andy Diggle and Jock, who created the original graphic novel.