Joe Carnahan’s ‘re-imagining’ of the ’80s TV series keeps enough of the original to connect with the built-in audience and adds enough smarts to justify the big screen leap. This movie, for me, epitomizes the mindless summer action comedy with its combination of nonsensical conspiracy and improbable explosions–like the parachuting tank fighting off air force drone fighters–though never reaching the brilliance of Last Action Hero or True Lies.
Like many of the recent action hero/graphic novel movie adaptions this is an origin story: How did the A-Team come together and why are they fugitives? Which, by the way, the TV series never covered so we’re on pretty safe ground.
Acting: Bradley Cooper is turning out to be a surprisingly good romantic/comedy leading man, Liam Neeson is, well, a past master, mixed martial artist Quinton Jackson is fine in the quartet’s easiest role and Sharlto Copley shows his District 9 performance was not down to the director. Jessica Biel is wasted as the eye candy since she never really gets out of a baggy uniform, Brian Bloom (the evil private military contractor) and Maury Sterling (the first CIA agent called Lynch) chew up the villain roles and Gerald McRaney is, well, workman-like as the A-Team’s nominal commander.
