Tuesday, June 15, 2010

The A-Team *1/2


Director: Joe Carnahan
Cast: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
Sharlto Copley, Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson, Brian Bloom
Gerald McRaney, Jon Hamm

There is nothing inherently evil about The A-Team besides the fact that it's so utterly disposable.
For almost two hours we are showered with incoherent action sequences, really bad writing, more of that flashy-leading-to-nowhere editing and a sad concept of what entertainment should be about.
Based on the 80's TV show, the plot follows the original premise as in how a group of clandestine army combat unit is framed for a crime they didn't commit, become federal fugitives and seek to clear out their name.
Nothing much about what the A-Team does makes much sense; they fly tanks, then drive those tanks out of lakes, have budget to create giant disappearing acts and several other preposterous actions.
The one thing they do get quite right is the casting. How Liam Neeson managed to keep a straight face with all the insane things the director asked him to do is testament to his outstanding thespian skills. He actually takes John "Hannibal" Smith, his character, seriously and his scenes have a strange resonance that cancel the ridiculousness going on around him.
Copley bursts with energy as the insane H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock and while Jackson lacks the intensity of the iconic Mr. T, he does a satisfying job.
Perhaps the saddest thing about The A-Team is that for all its loudness and show-off-ness when you leave the theater you might have no recollection of what you just saw.

4 comments:

Simon said...

Well, me and my thisclose-to-16 brain liked it, if only because Murdock kicks ass.

Andrew K. said...

no interest in this whatsoever, i didn't even see the TV show.

The A-Team Online said...

I just returned from watching this movie, and frankly, I didn't even know it was a story taken from an earlier series until I wikipedia-ed it just now.

Download Free Megaupload Megavideo said...

I like this movie the jokes between BA (Bosco) and Murchdoc (Pilot) are good. The story selection of Bradley Cooper is very good. We know about Liam Neeson how good he is and he is a legend