I was so extremely excited about seeing the A-Team in the big screen. I won’t lie, even though I couldn’t wait, in the back of my head, I was afraid this movie would be horrible because it was a remake. Even standing in line, we were discussing the chances of it not living up to the hype because of this fact. Boy, were we wrong! I was amazed at how well they adapted the basic story of the A-team TV show into a full feature length movie. It had everything that the television show was known for, as well as showing everything promised in the previews.
Alright, now that I have gotten that disclaimer out of the way, it’s time to discuss the movie. The A-Team follows the story of how an elite unit of Army Rangers. The movie starts out showing how the team got together, and how they worked for the Army, performing specialized and dangerous missions. The writers went into great detail with this facet of the A-Team, providing an amazing basis for the characters and the rest of the movie. This foundation is very important, because it is the foundation for the characters and describes them for those moviegoers who are not original A-Team fans, like me. And the best part is that I didn’t even realize they were defining the characters because I was so caught up in the movie.
After all of this, the A-Team goes on a top-secret mission to recover U.S mint engraving plates. and is framed for the ramifications of said mission. Of course, they decide to break out of jail, with the help of the CIA, and find the people who framed them to clear their names. Also, they want to get some “Biblical” payback, also known as killing the S.O.B’s who set them up. The movie continues with them trying to clear their names. You wouldn’t think that this would take very long, but the A-Team is faced with a huge twist in the movie, changing the entire plan and creating one of the most spectacular fight scenes I have ever seen in a movie. Ok, normally I try not to give away too many spoilers but they play the con game “cups” with huge shipping containers! In the end, they clear their names, but are still arrested for breaking out of jail. I mean come on. They save America’s economy, no easy task when you look at today, and they still are put back in the slammer. Of course, the movie ends with them breaking out of the holding truck and the opening script from the A-Team TV show playing.
The cast in The A-Team movie were phenomenal. Even to me, someone who did not watch a lot of A-Team TV show growing up, I know the characters and how they are supposed to be portrayed. And I must admit, the actors were perfect for their parts! Let’s start out the review with John “Hannibal” Smith. Hannibal is the leader of the A-Team and is known for his intellect, cigar and raspy voice. Ok raspy voice, which brings to mind only one person to play the part. Liam Neeson. He plays the deep voiced tactical genius in so many other movies that I don’t even have to bother explaining why he was the perfect actor for this character. However, I will say this, in this movie he has the scariest, most maniacal smile I have ever seen.
The other major character I need to mention is Bradley Cooper playing Lt. Templeton “Faceman” Peck. Everybody thinks that Bradley Cooper is just a winning smile that specializes in comedy, but The A-Team proves all of these people wrong. Yes, he does play a ladies’ man who flashes that dazzling smile in this movie, but he also is quite at home with a assault rifle running, dodging and quickly reloading. In one scene we see him in bandages with bullet holes and blood, and I was amazed that he looks grungy and scarred enough to actually be a bad “mother”. The great thing about this is that Cooper is still able to bring the levity and comedy we know him for, while still keeping this killer persona.
I have harped on the action and thrills of The A-Team, which is a major part of this movie, but it also has so many other aspects to it. Of course, with Bradley Cooper in the movie there has to be some hot, steamy love tryst and unrequited love story to play out through the course of the movie. Another major and surprising subplot , surrounds B.A Baracus, played by Quinton Jackson. In the TV show, and heck the first of the movie, B.A was the one guy on the teams likely to beat you down. During the second part of the movie, starting with the prison escape, B.A has started reading people such as Ghandi, and swears not to kill people anymore. He struggles with this throughout the rest of the movie, finally accepting who he is during the final fight scene. This subplot delves deeply into a number of psychological and theological theories that more than a few people have debated over the years, and shows a good example of how a person can come to grips with who he or she is.
After I finished watching this movie, I can honestly say I was not disappointed. Ok, after I finished watching this movie, I was ready to fork out another $7 to watch it again the next day. It was just that good. Not only did it have a lot of action and adventure, the other plots also made me think and feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
I have to recommend this movie to anyone who likes even a little bit of action as a must see of the summer 2010 movie lineup. I can almost guarantee you won’t be disappointed. On top of that, specifically for you ladies, with Bradley Cooper and the funny, sensual aspects you will probably enjoy yourselves too.