A-Team is a go!

Grade: B

The A-Team

Indian Release Date: 25/06/10
CBFC Classification:  U/A
Running Length: 1 Hour 57 Minutes

Cast: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson, Gerald McRaney, Henry Czerny, Brian Bloom
Director: Joe Carnahan
Screenplay: Joe Carnahan & Brian Bloom & Skip Woods
Cinematography: Marco Fiore
Music: Alan Silvestri

Guilty Pleasure! ‘The A-Team’ is perfectly described as a guilty pleasure. It’s like really crunchy, salty, deep-fried junk food, that you know is bad for you, it’s going to clog up your arteries real bad, but you just can’t resist it. Plus when it’s something so mouthwateringly delicious, even I’d tell you its alright to go ahead & indulge once in a while.

The movie is loud, dumb & is loaded with action sequences that do not even enter the realm of sanity (Jessica Biel’s character even refers to the A-Team as a group that specializes in the ridiculous); but the entire thing is done in such a tongue in cheek manner that you are more likely to be laughing your butt off & admiring the pyrotechnics than holding your head in agony.

Based on the 1980’s T.V. series of the same name, the movie acts in part as an origin story. The four members of the A-Team (A.K.A. Alpha-Team) are;

1.    Col. Hannibal Smith (Liam Neeson): The cigar chomping, grey-haired, gruff leader of the pack who “loves it when a plan comes together”.

2.    Lt. Templeton ‘Faceman’ Peck (Bradley Cooper): Hannibal’s second in command & a smooth talking “ladies man”.

3.    B.A. Baracus (Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson): The mohawked bulk of a man with a bad-attitude, who’s favorite two words seem to be ‘pity’ & ‘fool’; is also the driver/mechanic of the group, who also has a morbid fear of flying with Murdock.

4.    H.M. ‘Howling Mad’ Murdock (Sharlto Copley): A certified nut-job & the pilot of the bunch.

All four happen to be former army Rangers & meet by pure coincidence in the middle of nowhere in Mexican wastelands while being on the run from a corrupt General. The movie then jumps forward 8 years, when they are a crack commando unit in Iraq; highly valued by their commanding officer, Gen. Morrison (Gerald McRaney). While on a high-risk mission for C.I.A. officer, Lynch (Patrick Wilson) they are setup by another mercenary group led by the sadistic Pike (Brian Bloom), who also kills Gen. Morrison. The four A-Team members are court-martialed & thrown into separate jails, from where they’d naturally escape & try to clear their names & extract revenge. Along the way military officer Lt. Sosa (Jessica Biel), a former flame of Peck’s is entrusted with the job of locating the A-Team & bringing them in. Tons of explosions, gunfire, plane crashes, fist-fights & all sorts of cinematic devices to get your adrenaline pumping into overdrive, along with a few twists thrown in for good measure, round up this cinematic equivalent of a double cheese burger.

So what’s the part that makes this movie worthwhile?

For starters, the camaraderie displayed between the actors is just the right mix of back-slapping humor by the way of some pretty funny one-liners along with giving the characters well defined two-dimensional spaces. Credit should go to the cast that they manage to pull it off so perfectly that I found them to be quite a likeable bunch. Plus Patrick Wilson & Brian Bloom (who’s also the writer on the movie) ooze enough malice to provide the team with worthy & convincing villains.   

Each action scene is ready to top the one that came before it by being a loud & visceral assault on your senses. The movie starts out with a hair-raising helicopter chase sequence & moves on a daring truck heist to easily the craziest action sequence I’ve seen in years involving an airborne tank. Though I have to say the climax is a bit of a let down. Yes there is a lot of C.G.I. used & the scenes don’t have an iota of logic to them but they way they have been shot & choreographed makes them a thrill ride from the word go. The fast-cuts & edits though during the fights make the action less than cohesive on certain occasions.

The same however cannot be said of the inane plot which moves strictly on autopilot mode simply killing time till the next “plan” brings about the next big-bada-boom! The actors seem to aware of this especially Sharlto Copley & Patrick Wilson, both of whom seem to be having a blast toying with their characters. Sharlto Copley in particular is down right hilarious; just watch his scenes with Rampage Jackson & even a little South African accent nod to ‘District 9’ (2009). Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson (a mixed-martial arts fighter in real life) perhaps slides into the most famous role of the original A-Team, Mr.T. Honestly though I didn’t have much expectations from a non-actor taking over such an iconic role, Jackson doesn’t disappoint & if anything makes B.A. Baracus more human though he does the signature body slam move of Mr.T once. Baracus’s black GMC van from the series makes a brief appearance early on in the movie. Liam Neeson is at his dour best while Bradley Cooper more or less grins out the entire movie. Jessica Biel is on board as eye candy & she does her job competently. Post the credits there is a cameo scene with two of the original cast members Dirk Bendict & Dwight Schultz who played Peck & Murdock in the original series. George Peppard who played Hannibal in the original series had already passed away in 1994 while Mr. T (last seen or rather heard in ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’) refused to do a cameo appearance since he’d settle for nothing less than his original role, fool!   

Thankfully the show has been adapted in a manner which does justice to its 80s style campiness. There’s no attempt to turn it into a comic farce or an out & out serious flick. The sly, witty, tongue in cheek style captures the essence of the T.V. series well. It would have been better if they had used the original theme song from the show a little more.

Usually this is the kind of movie I’d tell you steer clear of but the ‘The A-Team’ is one hell of a romp through testosterone country in a seat-belt less adrenaline fueled ride. Go ahead & enjoy yourselves.

Final Verdict: A brainless yet immensely enjoyable action spectacle.

Grade: B  

 

- Movie Review by Danish Bagdadi

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