Written by: Kirk Renard
A-Team cuts the ribbon on the summer blockbuster season with this huge, explosive, over the top popcorn movie. This production – that filmed in and around the Vancouver area – is as entertaining as it is insanely ludicrous. I have gotten so used to shoddy 80ʼs TV remakes that I wasnʼt expecting much, so I was pleasantly surprised coming out of this one.
A Team had all the ingredients for a good summer blockbuster: funny, big explosions, plenty of eye candy and an easy on the brain story line. It starts with a short “how they all met” introduction and you quickly see how the team contrast yet compliment each other so perfectly. There is a good amount of cheesy references to the original TV series, but it’s not overdone. You can expect a crazy amount of computer generated effects and lots of off-the-cuff humour.
This movie has something for everyone: Bradley Cooper for the chicks, Jessica Biel for the dudes, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson for the UFC crowd, and Liam Neeson pulls in everyone else. Biel did decently as the tough, but very hot Army Captain, and Sharlto Copley was great as ‘Maddog’ Murdock, which didnʼt surprise me since Iʼm still blown away by his breakout performance in last summer’s District 9. Bradley Cooperʼs got the pretty-boy-charm thing down as Face and I donʼt have to say anything about Liam Neeson as Hannibal, because we all know he is amazing in everything. It’s not hard to see why Rampage got the role as BA Barracus, in what was said to be a very crowded auditioning process. He presents a new take on the role Mr. T made famous, and
brought a natural warmth to the character. But donʼt get me wrong, he certainly posseses all the rage that is needed for the role. After seeing the movie, I donʼt think 50 Cent or Common could have come anywhere close to Rampageʼs performance.
Director Joe Carnahan has established a great reputation for reinventing the shoot ’em up genre as of late with films like Smokin’ Aces and – the underseen – Narc, and continues with this revamp of this unabashedly cheesy 80ʼs TV show. I have to say I was entertained and definitely got what I paid for. I donʼt have a lot of great things to say, and nothing bad to say either, so in my opinion it is a good check-your-brains-at- the-door movie. As far as remakes go they did a great job, so we can likely anticipate a couple more installments in the years to come. This afternoon my plan was to spend $12.50 and be entertained for two hours. I love when a plan comes together.
But hey… what do I know? Iʼm just some guy that likes movies.