The A-Team Movie Review
Synopsis: Convicted by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit, a daring team of former Special Forces soldiers must utilize their unique talents to break out of prison and tackle their toughest mission yet…this is a job for The A-Team!
Rating: PG-13 intense sequences of action and violence throughout, language and smoking.
Run Time: 119 Minutes
Director: Joe Carnahan
Dvd Extra’s: The Devil’s in the Details, Character Chronicles, Featurette, Deleted Scenes, Gag Reel, Theme Mash Up.
Nudity Factor: None.
Of Note: B.A. Baracus bears the tattoos “Pity” and “Fool” on his knuckles, as a tribute to Mr. T’s catchphrase from Rocky III (1982): “I pity the fool!”. Contrary to popular myth, Mr. T never uttered that exact phrase on The A-Team (1983).
Recommendations: The Expendables — Taken — Taken 2 — Transporter — Wanted
Anyone that grew up watching the A-Team was excited but with reservations when this was announced. We wanted to see the A-Team make a comeback, but I was scared that they would screw it up. For those not familiar with the A-Team, they are a group of special operatives that accomplish things when others would fail. Somehow this group with all kinds of different kinds of skills find a way to overcome. If nothing else, they always have a plan and a couple of back up plans. In this story, they find themselves in Iraq just before we are leaving the country. One last mission is left, and only a group as crazy as the A-Team can accomplish it. That is when things take a turn for the worse for the crew and find themselves in a position they never thought they would be. My first concern was the casting, but they did a fantastic job with this. Liam Neeson as Hannibal, Bradley Cooper as Face, and Sharlto Copley as Murdock were great. I have mixed feeling on Quinton Jackson as BA Baracus but maybe that is because no one can replace Mr. T. The story was great as well. It had just enough throwback in it to keep the die hard fans happy, but still put in a few of its own twists to keep it interesting. The action was good, even if improbable most of the time. I did struggle with a few of the action scenes because they bordered on just being so far out there that it could have been a sci-fi film. I also struggled with a few of the mechanics of the action scenes. What I mean is the idea was good, but the execution was off. Still, many of the action scenes had a very fun-loving feel to them, which allowed me to forgive some of the reality bending moments.
Overall, I enjoyed this film about as much as I expected. Of course, I hoped for more, but I still got a fairly fun movie to watch. Other than a few hiccups, I thought they executed a film that was fairly true to the original characters and still found some moments to blaze their own paths. I would watch more if they made them, but that is doubtful at this point.