Over all, I’m a pretty cynical guy. I admit it. I come over as abrasive and rude, even in the rare occasions when I’m not necessarily trying to be. Along with that, I’m heavily critical about other people’s ideas. That goes especially for movies, which, honestly works in my favor, because I can take a comedic approach to ripping a new one into everyone’s favorite films. Its as close to my heart as opening day of Major League Baseball is to many of you. You know, America’s Past Time and all of that. With that said, I’m gonna’ vent a little.
Hollywood, as it does, is taking an idea, and hammering it into the ground like Uncle Ronnie putting the stake in the lawn for the bad mitten net at every family reunion. The problem is, they’ve yet to prove that this is a good idea. Hopefully, they won’t smash they’re thumbs like Ronnie. It hurts and leaves a lingering problem for later down the road.
Yes, I’m getting to a point. Apparently, the studios are loving this idea of mercenary teams ravaging the silver screen. There’s a certain delicate mesh of all things needed to make a film with multiple lead characters work. Of course, the same standards apply. Good material for the talent. Good talent. And, for this type of film, I think brand recognition is important. You also need a decent balance of characters and a well integrated sense of chemistry between them.
So far on the slate, we have the appropriate titled The Losers, which, as Jen pointed out in the Box Office Report, has tanked since opening weekend. Next will be The A-Team. This is where brand recognition comes into play. Even if you never watched the 80’s hit TV show, you can’t go to the local five and dime and not run into at least one person that knows the phrase “I pity the fool”, and another person to laugh at it. That’s a foundation upon which you can build. Plus, you have the draw of names like Liam Neeson for quality acting and Bradley Cooper for the ladies. No offense Brad. We’ll have to see how well MMA star Quinton “Rampage” Jackson does in the role of B.A. Barakus. But speaking of star power, the third, yes third similarly plotted film of the same summer will probably get some attention, mainly from the older crowd, because of its cast made up of a whole slew of 80’s action stars mixed in with a few name actors, who have more recently been in the spot light. The Expendables, co-written, directed and starring Sylvester Stallone, finds a team of aging mercenaries being hired to over throw a dictator in a South American country. A lot of people grimace at the mention of Stallone’s last directorial attempt, when he reemerged as John Rambo. I actually enjoyed that flick. I’m interested to see how well he tackles a more dynamic film, with other guys who are as eager to not be forgotten as Sly himself. Let’s just go down the list. Along with the HGH enabled Stallone, we have Eric Roberts, Mickey Rourke and…<snicker>…Dolph Lundgren working together along with Jason Statham and Jet Li. They one-upped The A-Team by not only having their own MMA star in Randy Couture, but also certified redneck WWE wrestler Steve Austin. Good job on dropping the “Stone Cold” from your resumé sheet. Then, making cameos we have The Govern-ATOR Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis. I should also mention that the recently deceased Brittany Murphy is also listed on the cast, although I don’t have info on what part she takes within the film. Mix equal parts of past and present, shake well and serve over ice. No, the ice isn’t a metaphor for Lundgren’s acting abilities. It just cleverly worked itself out that way. In any case, Sly and the folks over at Lionsgate must have faith in the success, as its been said that Stallone has dropped plans for another Rambo sequel in order to prep for a part deux of The Expendables.
So, given the possibilities for success that the two latter mentioned films possess, what happened to The Losers? Honestly, I haven’t seen the film, but I’ve read that Chris Evans stole the show, which pretty much wraps it up for me. I’m sorry. I know he just landed the role of the decade with the Captain America gig, but I just can’t be excited about a movie, in which Evans is the premiere talent. However, again, without seeing the movie, I think the real adversary was timing. If WB had been smart, which they actually can be at times, they would have pushed back the release date until at least the A-Team had hit theaters. If you’re going to go head to head in The Box Office, you might want to somewhat ride on the coat tails of a better established group of, well, mercenaries. If The A-Team lands big, and carries well for several weeks, you can make a pretty safe bet that audiences want to see more of the same. So you get the rollover fans. If it ends up being The F-Team, which actually works pretty well for a Jenna Jameson flick, you can always take the cheap shot marketing approach that The Losers did it bigger and better. It might at least get you a bigger opening weekend. Maybe Warner Bros. was looking at it bass-akwards. I don’t know.
The Losers is in theaters now. You can catch the A-Team on June 11 and The Expendables is set to release on August 13. I’ll probably see all three when they come out on DVD.
Tue, May 4, 2010 
Long after it was already revealed, comes the official word from Marvel.
