Director: Joe Carnahan
Starring: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Sharlto Copley
Released: 30/07/2010
Rating: 12A
Before you get into this review, I feel the need for a disclaimer. Born a child of the 90’s, I must admit I don’t think I have ever seen an episode of The A-Team. I have a vague knowledge of it through pop culture and have seen odd clips from it, but the point must be made that before seeing this movie I had very little reference point with which to compare The A-Team to its source material, so I’m not even going to try. I’m just going to judge it just as an action movie, not as an adaptation. Ok, disclaimer over.
This movie impressed me. In doing so it completely surprised me. Hollywood has been churning out tons of terrible action movies in recent years (Die Hard 4.0 and Terminator Salvation come to mind, although there are others) , and this could very easily have followed in their footsteps. The all-star cast all slot nicely into their roles, District 9’s Sharlto Copley especially pleasing as the mad Murdoch, while Bradley “The Hangover” Cooper fill’s Face’s boots nicely.
Hollywood’s favourite 2 words of recent years are of course: “Origins Story” and that’s what this movie gives. It returns to the very start, showing how the Alpha unit (or A-Team), came together by accident on a mission in Mexico, and form a bond as they fight together in war (although the movie sees them trade Vietnam for Iraq, in doing so bringing the story into the modern day, and allowing for the use of modern technology.)
The classic one liners that even the uninitiated like me will know (“I ain’t gettin’ on no chopper fool!” and “I love it when a plan comes together”) are rolled out like there’s no tomorrow – reminding us that 20 years may have passed, but this is still the A-Team.
The film begins with the team being framed for a crime they didn’t commit and promptly escaping from prison, and the plot basically involves them blowing up and/or shooting anybody and everything which stands in the way of clearing their names. But it does at least try to hold onto a plot throughout, and that must stand in its favour. Far too many modern action flicks simply ditch the idea of a plot entirely and decide that every minute of dialogue is a minute in which a helicopter isn’t exploding.
Clocking in at just less than 2 hours this film flies by at a decent pace, and while it’s not going to blow any minds, this is far from an abomination. Judging from the way this one ends, I’ll be shocked if there isn’t a second or even a full franchise on the way. They inevitably won’t be as good, but at the very least it can be said that this first movie was definitely a plan come together.
James Gordon
Tags: a-team
