The A Team

Have yourself a cup of green tea

3.5/5

Pop-corn  film, no brainer, good time, blockbuster, these are all words which  describe The A-Team. When you are told not to take a film seriously,  this is the prime example of that. The A-Team is over the top, action  packed and silly stuff, and you know when you are in the mood for that  kind of film The A-Team really does deliver. It takes elements from the  original TV series and gives it a modern edge while still keeping an  80's vibe to it. The same cast of characters are present with Hannibal  (Liam Neeson), Face (Bradley Cooper), B.A. Baracus (Quinton 'Rampage'  Jackson) and Murdock (Sharlto Copley), and the film starts off  introducing them all to us and how they came to know each other. Fast  forward several years and we see them get framed, the prime suspect  being Pike (Brian Bloom) and his crew. They get sent off the books to  recover plates for printing money by Lynch (Patrick Wilson). Their  superior gets killed, and this is where the frame job comes in. They all  get sentenced to different prisons, and Lynch decides to break out  Hannibal to make things right. Craziness and more craziness comes about,  and Jessican Biel looking drop dead gorgeous shows up from time to time  as the ex of Face.

All  these guys clearly had a blast doing this film, and it really shows.  Great chemistry with the team, more focus on the relationship between  Hannibal and Face, nothing wrong there though as they are great  characters. Murdock was my favourite and I wanted more of him, Sharlto  Copley is fantastic in the role. I want to see him in more films!  Rampage made a rather good B.A. and the stuff between him and Murdock  was good, I especially loved the airport scene towards the end. It  really is a lot of fun spending time with these guys, and Patrick Wilson  made a good mysterious agent. Jessica Biel aside from being eye candy  actually does a good job as the woman out to find the team. The back and  forth between her and Cooper was actually really good, they made for a  nice couple.

The  action is over the top and silly and for the most part I didn't have a  problem with it. The plot tried to have some twists, but if you do pay a  bit of attention you'll see them coming a mile a way. I enjoyed the way  they would plan out something and it would cut between that and them  actually doing the mission at hand. It added that extra element to those  scenes and they worked better because of it. The film looked great, it  was lit up so well and they used their locations in such a great way.  The action is exciting, I didn't really feel it was ever boring that's  for sure. The A-Team is easily something I could watch again and still  have a good time, although tempting to just watch Copley's scenes. This  is certainly a film for those who love their action films, I would say  fans of the 80's show as well as long as you're willing to let go and  experience something different.


First published at SuperMarcey.com

Last updated: 2010-08-04 00:03:18 by SuperMarcey

Everyone’s been raving about this one and boy am I glad I managed to catch it last night. I was catching up with a friend from Miri and we decided to catch the 11:50PM show last night at Berjaya Times Square.

The A-Team is a non-stop thrill ride with excellent takes on the characters that we grew up with in the 80′s show. The action’s over the top and it’s great that the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously. Liam Neeson’s great as Colonel Hannibal Smith, the master planner who heads up the squad. Sharlto Copley (District 9) deserves special mention here too cos’ he’s hilarious as Murdock; the crazy pilot who was a fan fav back in the day. Jessica Biel as usual is hot and the ladies would definitely love Bradley Cooper who plays “Face”.

The movie’s close to its end-run son don’t miss out on it. I give The A-Team 5 stars out of 5. The trailer was bad but trust me the movie’s a great watch.

For more reviews check out my blog here.

I never had the pleasure of growing up watching the original A-Team. Although if I did, I'm sure I would have tuned in every week with a bag of chips and a redbull (or the 80's equivalent).

The A-Team is the latest in the many recently announced Hollywood remakes. Its sole purpose is to entertain and make the production company oodles of money to roll around in while they listen to a recording of themselves laughing. (The life sounds good huh?)

If you weren't aware of the backstory of the A-Team you literally might live in Antarctica. The amount of references in movies and tv shows is astounding, but just in case here it is. The A-Team is a group of four specialized badasses who, after completing several thousand high profile missions for the United States, are framed for a crime they didnt commit. They quickly bust of of jail and serve as guns for hire, but only if you can find them, and after that only if you can afford them. Which makes the government pretty stupid since lots of citizens did find them and paid for their services, but the United States could never track them down and re-arrest them, idiots.

Anyways, the remake follows that basic premise except that before they become guns for hire, they have to figure out a way to clear their names. The original TV show was about Vietnam vets, but the remake places them in the latest Desert Storm, framed for killing General Morrison. Which they quite obviously didn't, and the guys who did do it very obviously ran from the scene. Again, the US government and military makes themselves look like fools and blame the A-Team. Plot structure is not this films strong points.

What it lacks in a story it makes up with plenty of action and some great actors. Liam Neeson takes on the role of Hannibal, the boss of the outfit and the guy with the plan. Bradley Cooper plays Faceman, the sweet talker, lady wooer. Sharlto Copley plays the crazed pilot Murdock, the kind of guy who grabs onto a helicopter blade and sings "you spin my head right round right round." And, Quinton Jackson plays the role of B.A. Baracus filling the very large shoes left behind by Mr. T.

Quinton Jackson is a UFC fighter and has acted in exactly zero movies before this, jumping into a role that is most recognized abover all the others. He looks and feels like an action vet. I honestly thought I would be tired of the words "pity" and "fool" but no matter how many times he said it, I never grew tired of it. Sharlto Copley is equally amazing considering his one and only other film was the lead in District 9. His career is coming along quite nicely.

The A-Team is covered in so much testosterone and manliness that its hard to handle. Flips in a helicopter, more explosions than a fireworks show, and bullets ripping across every surface possible. Plus, they fly a tank, A TANK for god's sake. If my action figures had ever been as cool as this, I might have died of exhaustion.

The A-Team adds nothing in terms of social commentary or plot, but it is an exploding barrel of fun that is amusing and enjoyable.

2 and a half out of 4 stars

-Christopher O'Connell

The original A-Team series (1983-1987) was about a group of Vietnam veterans who helped people in need. They were on the run from the law for “a crime they didn’t commit.”

The movie begins in Mexico where Hannibal, Face, and B.A. get their own introductory scenes. Hannibal and Face apparently are on some mission to fight a drug lord, and B.A. is just there. B.A. and Hannibal meet by chance in a real dumb scene that was completely uneccesary, they should have just known each other. They rescue Face and then meet Murdock for the first time. Here we get the orgin of B.A.’s fear of flying. Apparently they’re all in, or back in the military now. (B.A. was previously discharged over “some bullshit.”)

Anyway 8 years “and 80 missions” later they’re in Iraq, sent on a mission to retrieve stolen plates used to make counterfiet U.S. money. They get set up to look like they stole them from themselves. They’re sent to seperate jails but escape and seek to clear their names (In the TV show, it was revealed that in Vietnam they were sent on a mission to rob the Bank of Hanoi, and got screwed over in a similar manner).

They have two groups after them, one led by CIA agent Lynch (in the TV show he was a Colonel in charge of capturing the A-Team) who wants the plates for his own purposes. The other is Captain Sosa (Jessica Biel) an old flame of Face. These two groups overlap and conflict with each other as they try to find the A-Team. (I think they’re never called the A-Team but I could be wrong) Sometimes this got confusing, especially early on.

Liam Neeson plays Hannibal spot on as the man who always has the plan and come out on top in all situations. Bradley Cooper is the con-man/player face, who looks good for the ladies. Shartlo Copley (Of District 9 fame) plays Murdock, who is truly insane and brings the funny.

UFC fighter Rampage Jackson plays a great modern day B.A. Baracus. He doesn’t have the gold chains, but wears the mohawk well and has PITY and FOOL tatooed on his hands. He says fool a lot too. His fear of flying and banter with Murdock bring some true laugh out loud moments that the audience enjoyed a lot. You’ll never believe this but the character has a tiny bit of depth too. In prison he becomes a man of peace, which conflicts with his formal nature and the mission to clear his name. Half way through he even considers not having the mohawk.

Like the TV show it has a low body count, I think only two real characters die. It was pretty faithful to the series as far as I can remember. The A-Team van is only in the beginning, and gets destroyed. However it couldn’t have been used anyway as the plot takes them around the world. All in all it was actually better than it needed to be.

And of course it leaves room for a sequel. The end has the TV shows opening narration, “If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire, The A-Team.”

8.25 out of 10

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Last updated: 2010-06-11 00:23:23 by jemurr