The A-Team

If any film demands to be graded on a curve, it's The A-Team.

Simply consider the notion of making a big-budget summer movie from of one of the cheesiest television shows of a cheesy TV era.

It's a crafty plan to lower your expectations. As long the movie isn't two hours of punching grandmothers and kicking puppies, you're likely to leave the theater saying, "That was better than I expected."

Guess what? It works like a charm.

The A-Team, against all odds, is one extremely entertaining film. It puts pedal to metal about 90 seconds in and never lets up. That's also savvy because it's also kind of a mess that would collapse under its own weight if it slowed down for more than two minutes.

Director Joe Carnahan (Smokin' Aces, Narc) isn't taking that chance. Action scenes come flying at you hard and heavy from start to finish. The results are mixed: Some sequences are choppy and confusing, others thrilling. But like a comedy that never stops pitching jokes, content if only half of them stick, The A-Team pitches action, action, action, with a side of action and a little action to wash it down.

The plot follows the general concept of the TV series with a few tweaks. A (very) lengthy credits sequence set in Mexico shows us how the team of former Army Rangers comes together: Leader John "Hannibal" Smith (Liam Neeson), his right-hand man Templeton "Face" Peck (Bradley Cooper), powerful Bosco "B.A." Baracus (Quinton "Rampage" Jackson) and loony pilot James "Howling Mad" Murdock (Sharlto Copley).

We jump ahead several years, where the A-Team is now an Army covert operations crew with dozens of successful missions under their belts. But when they're set up for a fall by a variety of villainous forces, the boys have to break out of jail and fight to clear their names.

That's pretty much all you wanted to know about the plot, right? Because it gets pretty confusing from there and doesn't matter in the slightest anyway. It's only there to support – that's right – action.

Before I tell you why A-Team is worth your hard-earned cash, I should lay out its many faults.

Though Carnahan directed, it's not surprising to see director Tony Scott was one of the producers. Too many scenes evince Scott's "look" – the camera shoved in way too tight on the actors, so you can't tell what the hell's going on in fight scenes or big gun battles.

The special effects are wildly uneven too, especially in the climax. It looks like the usual Hollywood problem of the CGI being "just good enough" to make a locked-in release date. This time, it's nowhere near good enough.

But then, The A-Team is a nitpicker's dream, if you really want to go there. Jessica Biel's casting seems like an inside joke – "we're not taking this seriously, and neither should you, so let's cast a gorgeous but astonishingly wooden actor in this role."

Maybe you're wondering whether she's really that bad. Look at it this way: This is the first major film role for "Rampage" Jackson, an MMA fighter. He's not great, but he's not too bad – and that's high praise for a non-actor stepping into the iconic role. Yet he's a good bit more believable than Biel.

So with those issues, what makes The A-Team so entertaining? The rest of the cast, actually. If you can look past Biel (actually, look right at her, that's what she's there for), the film is jam-packed with colorful, charismatic performances.

Neeson seems a bit odd at first stepping into George Peppard's shoes as Hannibal, being considerably taller, leaner and tougher. But that's appropriate for the movie, which is basically the TV show on (lots and lots of) steroids. No attempt is made to explain his Irish accent, nor that of Copley, who is South African. It doesn't matter: Somehow in this film, it works.

But the film decides early on to focus on Cooper, hot off his success in The Hangover, and it's the right choice. You'd never have guessed the guy who played eighth fiddle on Alias would be front-and-center for a star-making performance, but it's true.

The A-Team shows off Cooper's buffed-up physique almost to the point of absurdity – he's shirtless on screen more than Mark Wahlberg in Date Night – but Cooper's charisma carries the day throughout.

A well-rounded supporting cast also delivers. Patrick Wilson and Brian Bloom, as potentially shady characters related to the A-Team's troubles, steal every scene they're in. (It probably doesn't hurt that Bloom, a veteran actor mostly relegated to TV work, gets co-writing credit.) Their wonderfully brash characters bring welcome levity to the pounding machine of gunfights and explosions that propels The A-Team.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't note the drinking game that by all rights should be born from this film: Drink whenever a guy with icy blue eyes is on screen. You'd pass out halfway through the film.

There's Cooper and Neeson alone, plus Bloom and Wilson, with a little Gerald McRaney – yes, Major Dad himself – thrown in for good measure.

If you're really into dudes with bright blue eyes, The A-Team is like porn. If you're into nonstop action and lots of male bonding, The A-Team is like porn. If you're into deep, fully-realized female characters – well, look elsewhere.

But if you had to ask me what I would want a big-screen take on a really silly TV show to be, The A-Team more than fits the bill. It's ridiculous, sure. But it's also a ridiculous amount of fun.

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. That being said, the expectations and sensitivities in a fan of the original series is non-existent in me, so this is purely based on what I felt about the movie itself.

First off, the casting is near perfect. Everyone had a role that they played very well, and while Rampage Jackson's acting could have been a little better, his presence and screen time were downplayed to perhaps make up for it. But that's what I'm talking about, it was a very good balance of characters that was consistently carried throughout the movie. Who really stood out for me was Sharlto Copley. For someone who wasn't professionally trained as an actor, he portrayed the crazy Murdoch flawlessly. I brought my parents to watch the show and they loved his performance, with mom going as far to say the movie worked because everything funny came from him. I have to agree, I was certainly very entertained for the whole duration of the movie largely due to him.

What I didn't particularly like were the computer generated effects. They looked quite fake at times, and it hints at a rushed job by animators. While the first three quarters of the film had a fairly consistent amount of action, the last quarter was overkill. Spoilt the movie a little for me, but the overall experience was a good one. Movies are meant to entertain and I most definitely was, much more than I expected for the price I paid for my ticket. Word of warning though - you really shouldn't think too deeply about the story when you're watching this. There are unresolved plot holes and some people have expressed upset at this, but the film was never marketed as a 'story' kind of film in any way so they really should've known better.

This movie is not for movie buffs who look for the meaning of life in films, but if a hilarious, well-acted, action-packed movie is your thing? I say go watch this now.

Story : Okay

Acting : Ranging from awesome to not bad

Cast dynamics :Brilliant

Hilarity factor : Totally

Special Effects : Acceptable to meh at times

Duration : Long but I didn't feel it

Would watch again : YEAH.

If you are looking for a light, funny and action packed movie, it doesn't get much better than this. The A-Team is very, very easy too take in, but never boring, has action-scenes that will blow you out of your seat and is stuffed with plenty of damn funny moments.

Also very nice for a change: this action/comedy film doesn't take itself too seriously. Which is quite refreshing if you take a look at all the 'comedy with a message' crap Hollywood produces these days.

The new B.A. (Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson), Murdock (Sharlto Copley), Hannibal (Liam Neeson) and Face (Bradley Cooper) are all great at their roles. Props for Patrick Wilson as the slick C.I.A. agent Lynch and Jessica Biel is lovely as always. Joe Carnahan, who wrote and directed this movie, simply did a great job and gives the audience exactly what it needs.

I'd say it was definitely worth my money.

Being a fan of the 80's television series as a child, naturally I was pretty excited 3 or 4 years ago when i heard about a possible 'A-Team' feature film. Back then, I believe the rumoured cast included Bruce Willis and possibly Jim Carrey??? The years went by until about a year ago I saw a picture of the current A-team cast in "EMPIRE" magazine....what - no Mr T????? OUTRAGE!!!

I was disappointed in the least and my eagerness and enthusiasm for an "up-dated' version of a beloved classic jumped out the window and died! Then, 2010 roles upon us and the trailers for the film hit the internet and cinemas but still - it didn't grab me. It looked tacky, un-original(well it's Hollywood and a re-make so it still kind of is), with totally over-the-top and overblown Micheal Bay-style action sequences and not a single trace of any whit or plot visible!

If it was not for my Dad (also an avid fan of the show) offering to pay for me, I probably would not have bothered seeing the film. Well...not at the cinemas anyway.

We watched the film last night and i have to say, it was definitely better than I was expecting. It was actually and surprisingly very good! I was fearing all my fond memories of my favourite characters such as 'B.A. Barachus' and 'Mad Murdoch' would be spat on and watered-down into ironic cliché versions of what they originally were - instead, I was treated to a clever and accurate modernisation of one of the best T.V. shows of the 80's!

The main concept for A-team to work is all about a successful interpretation of the characters. If the characters aren't right - the film will fall flat and will only be branded as A-team by name alone, nothing more than a cash-in on the name. Fortunetly the characters, although played by different actors - are successfully updated and portrayed and still somehow feel the same as the originals with the humour and witty dialogue still there in spades!

The cast did a fine job in their respective roles especially South African actor Sharlto Copley as 'Howling mad Murdoch'! He was hilarious and out of all the cast - resembled his 80's counterpart most accurately in his appearance. Quinton Jackson, although not quite Mr T - still managed to portray a descent portrayal of 'B.A' and although I don't recall him saying his famous catch-phrase more than once, he made up for it with his witty tattoos! I thoroughly enjoyed the back-story to his fear of flying!!!

The action scenes (as obvious from the trailers) are pretty big and impressive which is normal by today's standards. Lot's of explosions, gun/fist fights and airplane chases a-plenty fill the plot (yes...there is actually a plot) in nicely. None of the action sequences are drawn out too long and although some of the scenes suffer a bit from a little too much CGI, shaky-cam and quick cuts making visibility difficult and a bit muddled, still doesn't take away from the film's overall entertainment value.

The plot is not overly complicated but it IS there and it is not completely dumbed-down and insulting to the viewers intellect. A perfect balance of action, story and humour make A-team a brilliant and successful up-dated film adaption that successfully brings The A-team into the new millennium yet doesn't tread over the original.

Thankfully the best bits aren't shown in the trailers and the film is most deserving of at least one more sequel!

I pity the fool who doesn't enjoy this film!

The A-Team is easily one of the best summer movies made (It knows what it is, and what it isn't - It doesn't try to be anything else), and some of the most fun I've had at the movies in a long time.

On top of some great action sequences that left people cheering, the crowd also laughed non-stop. Bradly Cooper's comedic timing is excellent!

This one is worth checking out. Bring your friends! They did the show justice, and will introduce a younger generation to a great show. Carnahan put together a great movie, which easily could have gone the way of Starsky & Hutch, or Charlies Angels.

Have fun!