Movie Review: THE A-TEAM

Summer is a good time to go to the movies and unwind. Beat the heat and the sun by sitting in a nice air conditioned theater and watch a flick for two hours. That is why popcorn flicks, or movies that are meant to be entertaining and fun, are best marketed for summer. When Joe Carnahan took the task of adapting one of televisions most iconic fun action shows, he must have done his homework. The result is a fun and entertaining movie that embodies the spirit of the show while updating it for a new generation. Read more about THE A-TEAM below.

The cast is one of the best part of the movie. Liam Neeson, who is Hollywood’s go-to leader character, showed his action chops in TAKEN and kept it up in THE A-TEAM. Although his character Hannibal is the team’s leader and master-planner, he doesn’t avoid getting his hands dirty and throwing down. Bradley Cooper, playing the heartbreaking Faceman, gets some laughs with his wit and has great chemistry with love interest Jessica Biel. Making his big Hollywood debut, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson does a good job filling in Mr. T’s classic B.A. Baracus character, smackin’ fools and taking names. However, Baracus has a side story in the movie that doesn’t fit good, but more on that later. Lastly, Sharlto Copley follows up DISTRICT 9 with a completely ridiculous and hilarious portrayal of “Howling Mad” Murdoch, the teams pilot/eccentric goof. He will probably be the favorite character to most viewers because he’s so entertaining.

The action in the movie is over the top. That’s actually an understatement, it’s beyond crazy. The plans the team comes up with are brilliantly planned and spectacularly entertaining to see implemented. One scene shows the team in a helicopter getting shot at by an enemy chopper. They go straight into the air, stall, dodge heat-seeking missiles, and end up getting to safety. There’s lots of shooting, punching, air battles, and explosions. Anyone who says, “I didn’t like the movie because the action was just silly and unrealistic” should be punched in the face by “Rampage” Jackson. It’s THE A-TEAM, that’s what the show was about. If the movie was grounded in reality and limited to what could be feasibly done, it would have been boring and not worth watching.

The movie starts off with Hannibal attempting to rescue Face who is held by the Mexican general he went there to kill. Hannibal happens to run into B.A. Baracus, a fellow US Ranger, and he joins Hannibal to rescue Face. Then, they flee the general by the flight skills of Murdoch, and thus the A-Team is born. Jump ahead 8 years, and the team takes on a mission in Iraq that ends up going south. Framed for the death of their superior, they are incarcerated for 6 months before breaking out. However, B.A. has come to renounce violence and doesn’t want to rejoin the group in their attempt to clear their names. This part of the movie feels awkward and misplaced. I understand they wanted to give each of the characters some depth, but I think it’d have been better to go another route. They set out to clear their names and apprehend the responsible parties while being chased by Face’s former flame.

Overall, the movie is a lot of fun. The action is great, the actors are entertaining, the story is sometimes convoluted but still compliments the action. If you’re looking for fun at the movies this summer, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can watch… THE A-TEAM.

Fanboyz Grade: B+