Movies Reviews

The A-Team Movie Review

By Anne Brodie Jun 10, 2010, 18:07 GMT

THE A-TEAM follows the exciting and daring exploits of Hannibal Smith and his colorful team of former Special Forces soldiers who were set up for a crime they did not commit. Going “rogue,” they utilize their unique talents – and eccentricities – to try and clear their names and find the true culprit. Liam Neeson ("Taken"), Bradley Cooper ("The Hangover"), mixed martial arts champ Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, and "District 9" ...more

The legendary  A-Team is back and out of prison, chomping at the bit for the next adrenaline fuelled assignment, relishing in the mayhem they are about to unleash on the world, like kids in a video arcade.  The mismatched troupe of ex Rangers is back and loaded for bear.

Starring Liam Neeson as Hannibal, Bradley Cooper as The Face, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson as B.A. Baracus, and District 9’s breakthrough star Sharlto Copley as Murdock, this action packed remake of the TV series goes the jolts-per-second route with a couple of tacked on moments of reflection and an unforgettable scene of Face firing a tank canon on airborne attackers whilst falling to the ground from an airplane, from inside said tank.  And Jessica Biel’s aboard to act as irritant/love interest.

As we all know, the renegade military-esque outfit does things its own way.  The boys always get the job done, leaving tonnes of broken glass, dead bodies, and burned out vehicles in their wake, and lots of ruffled military feathers.  They are nothing if not rebels whose continuous successes spur love-hate responses from their superiors and the disdain of their international competitors.  They see themselves as above the law, yahoos on the side of right and American might.
It opens with a jaw dropping rescue sequence that sets the tone for the next two plus hours.  They face their toughest assignment yet, retrieving priceless American dollar bill plates held inside a heavily guarded safe house in war-torn Baghdad.  They must hijack carriers enroute to a ridiculously secure airfield in typical wack style. 

This is catnip to our boys, of course.  A BIG battle ensues, along with four or five other big money sequences.  One brilliantly utilises the principals of the walnut game to hide one billion dollars and the plates in a cargo car lined up with dozens of others.
As usual, no one’s identity is 100% so the odds are stacked, not just against the A-Team but against all players, including Arab sheiks who seem to be in cahoots with crime syndicates and several other individuals who seem equally intent on winning at all costs.

But there are problems in the spiritual universe for our boys.  Baracus is having an identity crisis.  While in the slammer, he developed his spiritual side and vowed never to take another life.  Hannibal’s grappling with growing older, Face is facing off against Biel’s character, his ex lover, who wants him arrested, and Murdock seems to be battling mental illness.  But these are introspective moments merely to allow is to breathe to set up the explosive hijinks that brought us into the theatre in the first place.

Like the most expensive actioners these days, The A-Team takes us on a global travelogue, with Canada’s majestic Rocky Mountains standing in for Germany’s smaller ones and lots of shots of dreary brutalist German cities.  Cooper’s face with those piercing blue eyes and vast planes of cheekbone serve as a kind of landscape which the camera lovingly explores at every opportunity.

The A-Team has the zing and inventiveness Carnahan brought to Smokin’ Aces which accounts for a lot.  It’s riveting to watch at times, but like so many great films, loses some its zing in unnecessary length.  Please someone, scissors!

35mm action adventure
Written by Joe Carnahan, Brain Bloom, Skip Woods, based on TV series by Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell
Directed by Joe Carnahan
Opens June 11
Runtime:
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence throughout, language and smoking
Country: USA