The A-Team

Being a fan of the 80's television series as a child, naturally I was pretty excited 3 or 4 years ago when i heard about a possible 'A-Team' feature film. Back then, I believe the rumoured cast included Bruce Willis and possibly Jim Carrey??? The years went by until about a year ago I saw a picture of the current A-team cast in "EMPIRE" magazine....what - no Mr T????? OUTRAGE!!!

I was disappointed in the least and my eagerness and enthusiasm for an "up-dated' version of a beloved classic jumped out the window and died! Then, 2010 roles upon us and the trailers for the film hit the internet and cinemas but still - it didn't grab me. It looked tacky, un-original(well it's Hollywood and a re-make so it still kind of is), with totally over-the-top and overblown Micheal Bay-style action sequences and not a single trace of any whit or plot visible!

If it was not for my Dad (also an avid fan of the show) offering to pay for me, I probably would not have bothered seeing the film. Well...not at the cinemas anyway.

We watched the film last night and i have to say, it was definitely better than I was expecting. It was actually and surprisingly very good! I was fearing all my fond memories of my favourite characters such as 'B.A. Barachus' and 'Mad Murdoch' would be spat on and watered-down into ironic cliché versions of what they originally were - instead, I was treated to a clever and accurate modernisation of one of the best T.V. shows of the 80's!

The main concept for A-team to work is all about a successful interpretation of the characters. If the characters aren't right - the film will fall flat and will only be branded as A-team by name alone, nothing more than a cash-in on the name. Fortunetly the characters, although played by different actors - are successfully updated and portrayed and still somehow feel the same as the originals with the humour and witty dialogue still there in spades!

The cast did a fine job in their respective roles especially South African actor Sharlto Copley as 'Howling mad Murdoch'! He was hilarious and out of all the cast - resembled his 80's counterpart most accurately in his appearance. Quinton Jackson, although not quite Mr T - still managed to portray a descent portrayal of 'B.A' and although I don't recall him saying his famous catch-phrase more than once, he made up for it with his witty tattoos! I thoroughly enjoyed the back-story to his fear of flying!!!

The action scenes (as obvious from the trailers) are pretty big and impressive which is normal by today's standards. Lot's of explosions, gun/fist fights and airplane chases a-plenty fill the plot (yes...there is actually a plot) in nicely. None of the action sequences are drawn out too long and although some of the scenes suffer a bit from a little too much CGI, shaky-cam and quick cuts making visibility difficult and a bit muddled, still doesn't take away from the film's overall entertainment value.

The plot is not overly complicated but it IS there and it is not completely dumbed-down and insulting to the viewers intellect. A perfect balance of action, story and humour make A-team a brilliant and successful up-dated film adaption that successfully brings The A-team into the new millennium yet doesn't tread over the original.

Thankfully the best bits aren't shown in the trailers and the film is most deserving of at least one more sequel!

I pity the fool who doesn't enjoy this film!

If you are looking for a light, funny and action packed movie, it doesn't get much better than this. The A-Team is very, very easy too take in, but never boring, has action-scenes that will blow you out of your seat and is stuffed with plenty of damn funny moments.

Also very nice for a change: this action/comedy film doesn't take itself too seriously. Which is quite refreshing if you take a look at all the 'comedy with a message' crap Hollywood produces these days.

The new B.A. (Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson), Murdock (Sharlto Copley), Hannibal (Liam Neeson) and Face (Bradley Cooper) are all great at their roles. Props for Patrick Wilson as the slick C.I.A. agent Lynch and Jessica Biel is lovely as always. Joe Carnahan, who wrote and directed this movie, simply did a great job and gives the audience exactly what it needs.

I'd say it was definitely worth my money.

If I ever would have wanted to see a film version of this TV series, this would have been it.

Fun filled action, with a great cast. Shame it didn't do well on the big screen and it didn't get a sequel.

Stands alone as a great action movie. I think the actors picked for this film, played the part of the original TV series characters very well and improved on the crazy plans.

Well shot, great script and crazy stunts.

The only weak link is Jessica Biel's acting, but her looks make up for that shortfall.

If you haven't seen this film yet and are a big fan of the orginal series, grab some pizza and get settled in for a ride. I sound like a fanboy 🤣

Action packed film dedicated to the original TV series with the same name. Interesting at first because of its cast (Bradley Cooper, Liam Neeson, Sharlito Copley) and because of the very fast pace right from the beginning of the film. The action sequences are messy but deliver entertainment throughout the movie and that overruns the sometimes flawed script and the plot holes. Acting is ok; the performance of Sharlito Copley is hilarious. He is spicing up the boring in between conversations of the characters and the things he says or does are very funny. Overall, entertaining blockbuster which still stands its ground. 7/10

I remember first hearing about this. Cautious optimism was among my immediate reactions. Later, I caught a trailer(on that, do not think for a second that you saw all the good stuff, there's plenty they didn't give away). I was still not sure what to think. Then I watched it tonight. I enjoyed every single frame. No, I'm not kidding, this works from the very start and never loses you. I love the show, and this pays a lot of respect to it(at times, a tad much... early on, Neeson's every other line contains the word "plan"), and this not only nails the four characters(who all get an unforgettable introduction each, and several individual heroic moments), it doesn't merely imitate, but builds and slightly reinterprets to update them. They are played rather well; Liam looks like he was born with that cigar in his mouth, Bradley genuinely is charming and suave, Sharlto(from District 9; he reverts to his dialect here and there) comes across as a lunatic without that making us dislike him, and Jackson... well, he looks cool, he's not asked to do anything he can't handle, and he's certainly got more charisma than any other wrestlers on the silver screen(or Vin Diesel). The acting is in general marvelous, and every role is well-cast. Everybody is a bad-ass in this(on/off at least), and that does get old every now and then. Biel is largely eye-candy(as is all other females in this), though we know that she can do this kind of thing, and she doesn't let us down. The dialog wants to be as clever and full of banter as 2008's Iron Man, and this leads to it trying too hard some(with that said, two thirds of it works perfectly, and it's not a complete buzz-kill when it doesn't). It is hilarious a lot of the time, and the half-full theater I was in all clearly got a kick out of it. This is two hours of pure fun with non-stop, awesome action that doesn't repeat itself, with shoot-outs, chases and fights. It's not realistic, and it's not meant to be. The plans are *brilliant* and seeing them gather materials for them is a blast. This keeps to an immensely fast pace, without overwhelming us, and it fits in plenty of well-thought out plot(that doesn't confuse, in spite of twists and such, that hold up). The script is by the guy who did Wolverine, Swordfish and Hit-man and a rookie; however, maybe because of help from the director(who I've only seen one other thing by, his outstanding The Hire short), they turn in something magnificent. FX are plentiful(occasionally overshadowing the people... be careful, Carnahan), and excellent with a few brief poor bits. The editing is tight, cinematography stylish. While it's black and white, switch-off-your-brain-at-the-door, Hollywood popcorn flick, it doesn't claim or attempt to be anything else, and it's an utterly well-made and re-watchable one at that. There is a little strong language and brutality to the violence in this(no blood). I recommend this to fans of the television series who don't have impossible-to-reach expectations, and everyone who can get into a movie that just entertains you for a solid 120 minutes. 8/10