The Losers

Man,I hate to read how some people hate the good classics.When there's all this commercialized,politically correct & sensitive "stuff" that some Hollywood loving"whoose"would call good entertainment.A little note for the people that are un-aware about "Hollywood movies"and how they claim to make the best movies in the world.They spend more on advertisements for the movie than they would on the budget for the production of the film.They are always afraid to take chances on new ideas and very talented writers and directors that think for themselves and don't worry about the box office "mumbo-jumbo"or the "bratty"youth demographic.The Losers is a real great movie,that is the real thing when it comes to "real" stunts and "real" action."Real" being the key word when talking about this movie.I as a viewer appreciate stuntmen going to risk their careers and lives for the sake of art,entertainment or just a pay check.GOOD PEOPLE!!The only thing I hate about this movie is that"love song"..Man,that's a weird song to put in that movie!!The movie holds up for many reasons.One,there was a horrible remake of The Losers last year.Two,The Expendables is practically the same movie!Except,for the 5 million dollor cast!Which should've only been worth $200,000 for the whole "over-rated"cast and probably the whole computerized crew.Three,The Losers is better movie than all that I've seen from this era.How can you hate a movie that has real fights in the movie and behind the scenes?

Sad to admit, I know, but I paid good money to see this drivel in first release in1970.......released as a double feature with GOD FORGIVES I DON'T or some other drivel, THE LOSERS as it was known in Sydney Australia saw the arclight in the glorious 2500 seat Capitol theatre, now the restored home to Disney extravaganzas like The Lion King. When I was there, this biker vs the Vietcong epic did quite good biz for 2 weeks and let us see, for the first time, a man drinking beer get hit in the guts and vomit on camera...in slow motion! This was a highlight too. The rest of this castrophe was how the US Govt got bikers to chase gooks and blow them up. 90 mins later we all stampeded to the foyer to the popcorn stand and also went to the toilet. Then we all rushed back into the cinema for another dose of claptrap. Awful. Remake? probably.

William Smith is my all time favorite B-Movie actor- a truly talented individual whose list of lifelong accomplishments is extraordinary. He single handedly made movies like "The Losers" watchable and even enjoyable if you don't take them too seriously. The film centers around the U. S. Army hiring a motorcycle gang to rescue a presidential adviser being held captive in Cambodia. Smith plays gang leader Link Thomas, whose Army Sergeant brother sets up the mission. Most of the movie is spent focusing on events leading up to the mission with the gang partying, smoking, getting in fights and souping up their choppers as the rescue nears.

The acting is average, although a respectable supporting cast (Adam Roarke, Paul Koslo & Bernie Hamilton) was assembled. There is too much time spent on love interests which tends to bog down the film, but the latter half especially is very entertaining as the mission takes place. This is 70's schlock through and through, but is a treat for William Smith fans, as he gets top billing and the lions' share of screen time.

No one will confuse this with anything Oscar worthy, but so what? A good way to numb your mind for an hour and a half.

When the president's chief adviser is captured by enemy forces in Cambodia, the CIA, in it's infinite wisdom, recruits members of the Hell's Angels in order to pull him out. Can we say 'expendable'? Aside from being criminally grotesque and sinfully stupid, these hog-jockeys spend most of their time trying to get organized and end up kicking the snot out of each other. And on top of that, they won't complete their mission without a bitchin' combat-ready chopper between their legs. That oughta come in handy in the jungle. Be sure not to miss the scene where a spindly member of the gang offers his fat biker buddy an ammends brewski, then hammers him in the gut with everything he's got, leading into a slow-motion exploding spit-up which I'm sure you'll want to savor every single frame of.

Fun genre-splicer where biker gang is enlisted by US army to rescue a VIP American captive behind enemy lines, with all the action and phony red paint stage blood they used to use in the 70's to go with it, Some pretty lousy acting to some pretty lousy dialogue, but not all. Big plus for me was the American's interaction with the Vietnamese locals as they try to go about conducting the business of daily life in a war zone, especially the lovely ladies, many of whom dancing in bra and panties in a "nightclub" (brothel). Cheesy love theme reprised over final massacre is the perfect unhappy ending.