Movie Review – The A-Team

Don’t you just love remakes? With so many adaptations/remakes running around I suppose it was just a matter of time before The A-Team got remade. Based of the TV series which ran from 1983- 1987 a lot of us might not have had a chance to watch it or remember it very well because we were too young. So if you did remember the series well. Dude! You are so old. The good thing about not really remembering this series is that I went to watch as an average movie goer with no expectations a fan might have. Which is a nice change.

The movie stars Liam Neeson as Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith (Liam Neeson), Bradley Cooper as Templeton “Faceman” Peck, Quinton Jackson as B.A. Baracus and Sharlto Copley as H.M. “Howling Mad” Murdock. Jessica Biel plays DCIS Captain Charissa Sosa and the film is directed by Joe Carnahan.

Now the A-Team stands for Alpha Team and just like in the TV series, are sent on a super top secret mission. Upon their return to base however they find their commanding officer who gave them the order, murdered, and therefore they have no proof that they were acting under orders. They are then sent to a maximum security facility but of course, they escape. Which makes me worry about maximum security facilities in general. The A-Team now go looking for the people that set them up. The storyline has been modified from Vietnam to Iraq but its generally the same.

Liam Neeson has pretty much played every conceivable character there is to play by adding Hannibal to this already long list of roles. Jedi Knight, Greek God, King of the Beasts you name it Mr Neeson has done it. So this role would hardly be a challenge for him. Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together?

A lot of us will remember Bradley Cooper from The Hangover and he is well suited for the womanizer Faceman. Plus he is eye candy apparently. If the girls I hang out with are any indication of what girls in general feel about him that is.

Copley as Howling Mad Murdock is probably going to be audience’s most favorite character. The mad pilot from hell who gave Baracus his fear of flying? Whats not to love? What I found out is that Copley is actually a South African producer, actor, and director who produced and directed several short films for the Cannes Film Festival. Didn’t see that coming I must say.

I’m actually the most impressed with Quinton Jackson who plays Bad Attitude Baracus. Now filling the shoes of Mr-T will be a big task indeed. For those who do not know Quinton is also known as Rampage Jackson, and is an American mixed martial artist. He acted in several reality TV shows including The Ultimate Fighter 7 and is a trained UFC fighter. After watching the movie thats pretty scary stuff. You don’t ever want to get into a fight with 6 foot 1, 93 KG guy that looks like that. What impresses me however is the fact that this guy isn’t actually an actor per say like the other three but he plays his role very well.

Overall it was a generally enjoyable movie with a nice blend of humor and action. Probably not the most original plot or storyline but it has decent jokes and a lot of explosions. So don’t expect too much and I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy this movie.

“I ain’t gettin on no plane!” Sorry couldn’t help myself.

I rate the movie 3 out of 5