Just in case you hadn't noticed, comic book movies are doing huge business at the moment. THE DARK KNIGHT was one of the biggest movies of last year (and not just because some of it was shot on IMAX cameras), only to be surpassed in the UK by MAMMA MIA.

This year we've already seen IRON MAN 2 do massive opening weekend takings in the US, despite mixed reviews, and Kick Ass, which takes a different angle on the superhero genre, showed to both critical and audience acclaim. However, not all comic book movies are about caped superheroes. V FOR VENDETTA, for example, was political allegory with a masked anti-hero.

Then there are movies such as the Cronenberg directed A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, Sam Mendes's ROAD TO PERDITION and the early Scarlett Johansson film, GHOST WORLD – all based on graphic novels, and that's without even touching on the output of Europe or Japan.

There are accusations that comic book movies are lazy filmmaking because they are already visual storytelling, but the important thing is they are, for the most part, good stories of mythical proportions and, let's face it, a much better source than computer games.

THE LOSERS, based on the DC/Vertigo comic by Andy Diggle and Jock, is the story of five anti-heroes who get framed and try to get justice and save the world in the process. Directed by Sylvain White and written by Peter Berg, who directed HANCOCK, it is basically The A-Team with more sex and violence, which isn't a bad thing. Of course, a film like this deserves an ensemble cast and it delivers.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan (WATCHMEN) is Clay, the leader of the group; Zoë Saldana (AVATAR, STAR TREK) plays Aisha, the love interest, and a pivotal character; Chris Evans,the best thing about the FANTASTIC FOUR films is Jensen, the gang's tech guy and all-round hacker; Idris Elba (The Wire) plays Roque, the explosives expert, with a temper to match; Columbus Short (STOMP THE YARD) is Pooch, who's in charge of transportation; and Oscar Jaenada (CHE: PART TWO) is the marksman Cougar.

The film also stars Jason Patric (IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH) as Max, the rogue government agent, who is the target of their mission.

Like the A-Team, it is not to be taken too seriously and there is plenty of quipping between the characters, however the action is a lot more serious and brutal, but totally implausible. For example, there is a fight between Morgan and Saldana in a hotel room, and the slip of a girl is throwing the hefty frame of Morgan around the room.

He also gives as good as he gets, and she manages to escape on her hands and knees with a gratuitous shot of her rear. This is pretty indicative of what the film represents, although there is a lot more blowing shit up than the close-contact fighting.

This definitely falls into the blokish action movie category, and doesn't pretend to be anything else. There are no hidden depths despite the occasional emotional scene such as the one in the opening act, but it does have a few surprises that elevate it above the average super hero comic book movie.

THE LOSERS is in cinemas from May 28