Nearly 30 years ago, a crack commando unit, on the run from the Government for a crime they did not commit, burst on to TV screens. In every explosive episode, they fought bad guys, overturned jeeps and promptly escaped security stockades using their handy DIY skills. This year, still wanted by the general public, they have been revived on the big screen as soldiers of fortune. The script has its problems, and suspending disbelief helps, but there is a great deal of pleasure to be taken in watching…The A-Team.
Of course the 2010 A-Team of looks distinctly different to that of ‘83. The Vietnam veterans have been updated to elite military rangers in Baghdad and, while an effort has been made to tone down the cheesier elements of the original series, director Joe Carnahan has successfully kept the same sense of over-the-top, cartoonish entertainment so that, as long audiences remember to check their brains in at the door, this remake is perfect summer blockbuster fun.
After a precursory mission which sees Hannibal (Neeson) meets B.A. (Jackson), Face (Cooper) and Murdock (Copley) meeting for the first time, the film jumps ahead to eight years later and the foursome are given secret orders to retrieve US treasury plates which are being used by Iraq insurgents to counterfeit millions of dollars. However, after successfully completing their task, they are framed for stealing the plates themselves and are sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Naturally, prison cannot hold our heroes for long and they soon escape with plans to obtain the once-again stolen treasury plates and clear their name and reputations. This time, however, they have Face’s former girlfriend Captain Sosa (Biel) on their trail and mysterious CIA operative Lynch (Wilson) standing in their way.
In developing a remake of this classic 80s TV show, the most important aspect was probably the casting because each character from the original has become an iconic figure in their own right. In this respect, the film fares rather well. Bradley Cooper effuses the same charisma and charm, along with a certain degree of narcissism, as Templeton ‘Faceman’ Peck and he, along with the brilliantly funny Sharlto Copley, who is let off the leash here as certified lunatic ‘Howling Mad’ Murdock, provides most of the film’s funniest moments.
While Neeson adopts a growler voice, more than he really needs to, for his more frustrated take on John ‘Hannibal’ Smith, it is really Jackson gets the short straw, however, with the impossible task of filling Mr T’s over-sized boots as Bosco B.A. Baracus. Thankfully, his character’s near-superhuman strength in the TV series has been grounded a little more in reality but this also has the unfortunate effect of rendering him the most redundant member of the team. Perhaps the biggest surprise in the film though is Patrick Wilson who revels in his role as the callous and sneaky Agent Lynch and, in an unprecedented turn for a newcomer among cult favourite characters, actually runs away with most of the best lines.
This is, however, a film of few surprises. Despite the entirely new origin story for the A-Team that starts the film, we are presented with a series of nods to the TV show, whether they are cleverly woven into the story, such as the cause of B.A’s fear of flying, or forcibly shoe-horned in, like the ‘Pity’ and ‘Fool’ tattoos emblazoned across his knuckles. The film even gives a quick explanation to the most ridiculed aspect of the TV show - that despite all the explosions and bullets contained in each episode, no one ever got seriously injured. As Hannibal explains, his team are so efficient, they can complete their missions 'without bloodshed'.
But while the movie provides a happy amount of dumb fun with ridiculous set-pieces (see the flying ‘tank vs plane’ as included in the trailer) and well-pitched comedy, it moves towards a conclusion that unfortunately suffers from poor computer-generated effects. But then, this is just one more thing to brush aside in a film that contains many flaws, all of which are outweighed by the great entertainment it delivers.
