23 years after George Peppard, Mr T, Dwight Shultz and Dirk Benedict put down the sticky backed plastic, the welding glasses and glue guns; Joe Carnahan cowrote and directed the first big screen incarnation of the classic 80's TV Series - The A-Team.
Starting with the casting, the four main actors all do an honourable adaptation that I am sure the originals would have been happy with.
Bradley Cooper nails the charm/arrogant mix that was the hallmark of Dirk Benedick's, Templeton 'Face' Peck, in the series format.
Sharto Copley takes the knife edge insanity mix of 'Mad Dog' Murdoch to the next level with his quirky one liners and comic seriousness.
Quinton Jackson easily fills the boots of B.A Baracus, even fleshing out the character with more depth to his personality and his love for his truck. Introducing the reason for B.A's fear of flying was a great idea.
Squaring the foursome off is Liam Neeson as Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith. Now I have a lot of respect for Liam Neeson, I think he is a great actor who has been the lead in a number of great films. But here is the only cast member that I am not totally sold on. George Peppard really made 'Hannibal' his own and I think any actor would have struggled to fulfil the role as he did. Neeson doesn’t quite manage to pull off the same 'shit eating' grin that made the character so famous, the delivering of Hannibal's famous episodic catchphrase just doesn’t feel right without Peppard's cigar protruding grin.
I do love it when, despite the clear fact it is never going to win oscars, a film surprises you with all the moving parts coming together, but unfortunately there is something lacking from this one.
The opening origin sequence is captivating and interesting enough, as an A-Team fan I was excited to watch this, the back story of the initial coming together of a crack commando unit which would ultimately lead to the realisation they will not be cleared of their crimes and will always be soldiers of fortune.
One of these aspects is that I seem to have missed something each time I have watched this movie but I cant seem to quite work out the reason for the colloquial A.M.F that is used a few times in this film, namely the opening action sequence. There is no google result for it with the only explanation being the writers thought it would be a new catchphrase for any sequels and continuing story. Alas it is little aspects of the film like that I fear put a stop to any thought of making a sequel.
The introduction of Jessica Biel completes the feel of the original, with the addition of the pretty female character complementing Templeton Peck. They did well bringing her into the modern era, rather than the admin assistant the female character always was to the team, she is a competent military officer who has an independent feel. However that being said some of the wardrobe choices do make you wonder if they were just using Biel‘s beauty for purely just that fact, the female eye candy equivalent that complements Bradley Cooper's continued need to have limited clothes on. From a short skirt high heels combo when she surely would know there was a potential need to jump into action, to a crazily un-ironed shirt when interviewing the captured black ops villain. However her performance is good and these aspects shouldn’t detract from that fact.
For all the childish enthusiasm I had going into the lead up to watching this film, the middle hour failed to capture my attention consistently. Within this section is one of the craziest, funniest and unbelievable action scenes I think I have ever seen. But I cannot get on board with it being in the film as it stands. That's not to say the scene
doesn't have its merits however.
"Their trying to fly the tank" - Charissa Sosa (Jessica Biel)
Now if it wasn’t for the fact the writers and director seem to want to maintain a balance between realism mixed with the Blue Peter style aspect of the original series, the Tank scene would fit perfectly, however there is no level of realism to it whatsoever.
The grand finale plan is very entertaining, engaging and intriguing, but again falls short on the realism front. This brings me to an aspect/theme that runs through the film which I couldn't understand at all, in that 'Face' seems to have to prove himself and his credibility when it comes to making military plans but maybe my memory fails me again by not understanding a reason for the doubt and worry surrounding his abilities. 'Face' was always the charm and manipulation behind any plan, not the 'Hannibal' lead planner of all successful missions.
On the whole The A-Team is a good, well made action film that does bring back the nostalgia of my childhood. The acting is good throughout, the soundtrack is good and the action will keep you engaged for the most part. But thats the thing I am afraid, this is just a good film lacking a little to much in areas that could have made this the beginning of a movie franchise the series has always deserved. Finally, the shock horror, double cross, betrayal is so obvious there is no surprise when clearly there should be and unfortunately that pesky balance I mentioned, between trying to keep it real but keeping the action unbelievably crazy means the plan the director and writers clearly had didn’t quite come together.
Farquaad's Rating - Good but not great, could have been the reinvention of a franchise.
IMDB - 6.7/10 (230,582)
Metascore - 47/100 (37 Critic Reviews)
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