Review: The A-Team

Nothing says summer like a big Hollywood production of a classic television show. Charlie’s Angels, Miami Vice, Starsky & Hutch, The Dukes of Hazzard — all recent adaptations of shows I remember fondly from my childhood. Some worked and some made me never want to even see a rerun again. So it was with great hesitation that I entered the theatre to see The A-Team, which, next to Knight Rider, is my favourite live-action TV show of the ’80s. The result? A wickedly fun 117-minute ride from start to finish. Sure, it’s loud and obnoxious and full of one liners — but wasn’t that what the show was about too?

The film starts with our four anti-hero Army Rangers meeting during a mission in Mexico. There’s the cigar chomping leader Hannibal (Liam Neeson), the womanizing, sexy and suave Face (Bradley Cooper), the bad-ass B.A. Baracus (Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson), and the nut job pilot Murdoch (Sharlto Copley). After their Mexican rendezvous, which ends with a lot of things blowing up, we skip ahead eight years and find the four in the same battalion serving in Iraq. They’re assigned to retrieve a briefcase full of counterfeiting plates by a mysterious CIA agent named Lynch (Patrick Wilson). Just when they are about to complete the mission, something goes wrong, the plates are stolen, and they find themselves being double-crossed. Stripped of their rank, the four are sentenced to serve 10 years in prison for the mishap. Now they have a personal vendetta and must escape to find the plates and clear their names.

As far as casting is concerned, Neeson, Cooper, and Copley are perfect matches for their TV counterparts and do a great job at embracing the vibe of the series and passing it across onscreen. Jackson is no Mr. T though, and for a UFC fighter he didn’t appear that tough. I also felt that he tried too hard at doing Mr. T’s voice when he said “Fool”. (Although he never does say the infamous line, “I pity the fool!”, both “Pity” and “Fool” are tattooed on his knuckles). Another cast member I found quite useless was Jessica Biel as Face’s ex-girlfriend/Army Captain Charisa Sosa. This was more of an issue with bad writing than acting, and really, they needed some estrogen to balance out the testosterone.

Writer-director Joe Carnahan knows how to make even the most ludicrous scene explode with action and makes you forget how ludicrous it is. And really, when you have a movie where characters attempt to fly a tank, you have to check your head at the door and just enjoy it for what it is or there is no point in seeing it. The A-Team worked for me and I think it’s safe to say that fans of the series, or someone just looking for a fun summer blockbuster, will both be satisfied.

**** out of 5 stars

Rated PG
Cast: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Sharlto Copley
Directed by: Joe Carnahan
Official Site IMDb

brian.mckechnie@citynews.rogers.com

ALSO OPENING THIS WEEK: The Karate Kid, Agora, Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage

Top image: A scene from The A-Team. Courtesy 20th Century Fox.