The A-Team Review
by Homer Yen (homeryen88 AT gmail DOT com)July 10th, 2010
The A-Team: A Good Plan that Comes Together
by Homer Yen
(c) 2010
Sure, I remember watching the A-Team TV show when I was growing up, and it was a hoot. The team is a crack commando unit that could take otherwise absurd assignments and, with a man and a plan, strategize and execute their way to successful outcomes. The show featured lots of explosions, lots of gunfire, and minimal dialogue.
If you were a fan of the TV series or if you think summer films should be about lots of explosions, lots of gunfire, and minimal dialogue, then you'll be satisfied with this big-screen adaptation. The film stays pretty true to its television origins although this film also explores how the team came together in the first place. Hannibal (Liam Neeson) is the leader of the pack, rugged and honorable; Face (Bradley Cooper) has a special way with the ladies that sometimes helps but usually hurts him; Bosco (Quintin "Rampage" Jackson) provides the muscle and I pity the fool who decides to get into a hand-to-hand scuffle with him; and Murdock (Sharlto Copley) is the unbalanced teammate who provides the comic relief and the means to fly all manner of aircraft. Their coming-together happens in the opening act when a corrupt Mexican militarist becomes the first victim in a long line of victims courtesy of Hannibal and company.
The opening sequence is a bit rocky as the film attempts to establish its tone and pace. Gunfire here; rocket fire there; a howling pilot everywhere. The action sequences feel fragmented and are too-quickly-edited. But, the film becomes more surefooted once the real story begins. Now, when I say surefooted, I'm not saying that we are heading for an Oscar nomination. This is what I mean. There is a wild scene when the team finds themselves in a tank and falling towards the Earth from 30,000 feet above. You'll have to watch to see how this unfolds. The parachutes are failing and Hannibal commands that the tank turret swing in a certain direction and "fire" in order to steer the tank while in its freefall. Again, turning the absurd into the probable, this is actually pretty funny.
I recall an 80s survey that reported the A-Team TV show as the most violent at that time. The survey said that it was even more violent than Miami Vice. But, this film knows that it's not supposed to have the gravity of a war film or anything really serious. After all, it is the summer and while the explosions are plentiful, the violence is cartoonish. How else can you explain people being blown up by explosive devices but there's no actual carnage seen on-screen?
Oh, yes...there is a plot in which the team is wrongly accused of a crime and they have to work to clear their names. There's a CIA operative (Patrick Wilson) that provides support and there's a Dept of Defense investigator (Jessica Biel) out to uncover the truth. But the film is an I-want-to-be-a-MacGuyver-and-build-cool-stuff meets all-the-bullets-you-can-fire-bravado. And, the "A-Team" accomplishes what it sets out to do.
Grade: B
S: 1 out of 3
L: 1 out of 3
V: 1 out of 3
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