The A-Team is like Mr T himself: It may look and sound ridiculous, but it just works ? sort of.
Believe me, I really did not want director Joe Carnahan?s (Smokin’ Aces, NARC) movie revamp of the popular 80s TV show to work. It is an awful thing to admit, but I was actually looking forward to saying some nasty things about it.
That's because to me The A-Team is more than just a rubbish children?s show in the 80s ? it was a childhood obsession. Messing with The A-Team is like messing with my childhood. They were the 80s? equivalent of the Fab Four. Every boy my age dreamt of being a Hannibal, a BA Baracus, a Face or a Murdoch.
Why I wanted to be a mental patient I am still not entirely sure about, but you get the idea.
Plus, I am sick of this ridiculous obsession with the 1980s. In the Decades family, the 1980s is the brash middle brother no one talks to at functions because he's obsessed with money, carries a phone the size of a house brick and has hair like an Australian cricketer. I was there, believe me, they weren't that good.
But despite my prejudices, I cannot deny I enjoyed The A-Team. Now, don't get me wrong, it is no Citizen Kane. In fact, it is not even a good film.
The plot, in which the eponymous quartet of Special Forces soldiers try to clear their names after being framed for a disastrous undercover military mission, is ludicrous, and some of the dialogue (the bits you can understand at least) is as dodgy as Mr T?s bling.
The A-Team?s van and famous theme tune, along with love interest Captain Charissa Sosa (Jessica Biel), are also criminally underused, while Liam Neeson and Quinton ?Rampage? Jackson are unconvincing as team leader Hannibal and BA respectively.
But, just like when the A-Team used to somehow get trapped in a shed full for rusty spanners and a broken fridge and somehow escape by turning it into a combine harvester with flame throwers and a nail gun, it shouldn?t work, but it does.
The first fast-paced 30 minutes alone are worth the price of admission, as the four members of the team first meet amid a backdrop of explosions and really bad dialogue.
And the action only gets bigger and sillier. People rappel down skyscrapers while firing guns. They drop a parachute-equipped tank from a plane and shoot it either way to guide it into a lake.
They execute ridiculous missions that involve knowing exactly where the enemy will be at exactly what time, down to the very millisecond.
But that actually adds to the charm. The A-Team was never supposed to serious.
And as much as it hurts me to say it, Sharlto Copley, otherwise known as the bloke from the brilliant District 9, is pretty good as ?Howlin? Mad? Murdock. Although, I have no idea which accent the South African star is trying to do.
But the real star of the show is Bradley Cooper, otherwise known as the good-looking one from another brilliant movie of last year, The Hangover.
Cooper, who plays the group?s ladies man Templeton ?Faceman? Peck, is destined to be a bigger star. He drives the film and covers up the cracks left by the miscasting of Neeson.
Plus there are even some memorable quotes among the dross. My favourite is ?D.O.D? I don't care if she is G.O.D?.
So essentially, it isn’t awful, but it does beg the question whether it would have worked if it wasn?t called The A-Team. And the answer is, probably not.
But despite every instinct in my body, I enjoyed myself. There are worse ways to spend an evening ? believe me.
Sometimes I really hate it when a plan comes together.
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ndrew says
actually, i haven’t watched this movie yet..
after reading this, i’m kinda interesting to watch it..
8)
charles says
I saw it and liked it. It was a bit like GI Joe without the futuristic blather. A jolly good update to the original I used to watch as a kid.