The A-Team

A Wild Ride!

[Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Sharlto Copley, Quinton Jackson]

Summer is almost in full swing, and the movies just keep on coming. There is now 2 or 3 movies a week that need to be watched, and I am a man on a mission. And, of course, a man on a mission is critical for taking in a movie like "The A-Team". So, me and the guys from work rallied together and headed to the closest multiplex to the office. Luckily, the closest multiplex is 2 blocks away.

SYNOPSIS: An elite squad of Army Rangers take on a mission outside of Baghdad and are framed for the theft of mint plates. Tried in a military court, the members of the alpha team soon escape and pursue the men responsible.

From polished to player, light to dark, crazy to crazier, and mohawks into meaning -- these are the traits that distinguish the new band of brothers from the original 80s television action series characters of Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck (Bradley Cooper), Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith (Liam Neeson), Capt. "Howling Mad" Murdock (Sharlto Copley) and Bosco "B.A." Baracus (Quinton Jackson), respectively.

Ramping up beloved characters from the 1983 to 1987 hour-long small-screen actioner, director and co-writer Joe Carnahan breathes new life and new depths into the members of the A-Team. Gone is the "Face" all dapper and debonair, replaced by Cooper as a ripped bodied playboy living in the moment but unsure of how to measure up to strategic colonel. "Hannibal" from Neeson is a grittier, growling leader, still with a cigar and a catch-phrase but now when a more realistic perspective of life. Sharlto Copley, straight away from "District 9", supplies great laugh-out-loud moments closer to the brink than Dwight Schultz ever was. And Ultimate Fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson both channels Mr. T and Ghandi as he struggles with the warrior and new-found peacemaker within.

The story is action packed from beginning to end. Carnahan provides us both the heroes origin tale and several plans that come together. After being framed for the theft of one hundred dollar mint plates, the team is pursued by Jessica Biel as Department of Defense Charisa Sosa, Patrick Wilson as CIA agent Lynch and Brian Bloom as contract mercenary Pike. Bloom brings a lunacy to the Pike role that almost rivals Copley's Murdock, and definitely makes you smile.

But while the story and characters is solid, there are a few key issues. First is that when you use foreign actors, sometimes the native accents come through. While we can forgive Copley for the hints of South Africa since he throws all sorts of accents at us through the film, Liam's native tone seems to seep through too much. The other issue I have is the quality of some of the CGI effects during the beginning and ending of the film. I guess a $100 million doesn't go as far as it used to for digital FX. Lastly, a couple of surprises could have left as surprises. I saw a few plot points coming before the reveal, and wished for better writing in parts.

You will laugh at the villains and the lunacy. You will like the pace, the characters and the action. You will love it when a plan comes together!

Worth: Matinee & DVD