Release: June 10
Running time: 118 Minutes
Rating: M (Action Violence)

The A-Team: What a blast from the past! Adapted from one of the more memorable and popular shows of the 80’s based around a group of outlawed Special Forces soldiers. Weekly, the team was set up with a crime they didn’t commit and while still on the run from the authorities, in the name of justice, they would help others who were in need of their assistance. The series had a good four-year run from 1983 to 1987 and made names out of George Peppard (Colonel John ‘Hannibal’ Smith), Dirk Benedict (Templeton ‘Face’ Peck), B.A. Baracas (Mr T) and H.M “Howlin’ Mad” Murdock (Dwight Schultz).

Quite an ambitious project considering what a huge success The A-Team was in its heyday. Although the film seemed to have a lot going for it even before it started with director Joe Carnahan (Narc, Smokin’ Aces) and producers by the likes of the formidable Scott brothers, Ridley (Gladiator, American Gangster) and Tony (Top Gun, Man on Fire) along with the series’ original creator, Stephen J. Cannell (21 Jump Street)on board. Probably the more perturbing matter would be the unlikely stars cast in the lead roles of this testosterone-filled picture; Liam Neeson (Schindler’s List, Taken) plays the brilliantly tactical-minded leader of the A-Team, Hannibal Smith, Bradley Cooper (The Hangover, New York I Love You) plays Face, Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson plays B.A. and completing the whole eccentric quartet, Sharlto Copley (District 9).

Right from the get-go, the film starts with Hannibal working on a case with Face in Mexico where they meet B.A. while on the run from heavily-armed criminals and subsequently, Murdock in a ward at a hospital. After that momentous meeting, the team continues to work on 80 cases in a span of 8 years. But trouble soon erupts as the team accepts and completes a difficult case in Afghanistan when the U.S. troops were supposed to evacuate the country. They were then framed for the murder of Hannibal’s close friend, General Morrison and instigating the theft of some plates used to make American dollars. They were tried, found guilty and given dishonourable discharges for both offences in front the military court and immediately sent to separate prisons. While in prison, Hannibal who was not content on being framed tries to get Lynch, a CIA agent who gave him the orders to retrieve the plates in Afghanistan to bust him out of jail. After that, he gets the rest of the team back together and they head on to clear their names.

Neeson as the cigar-chewing Hannibal Smith is pretty convincing while pretty boy Cooper is just perfect for Face’s role as a seducer. Likewise, Copley’s Murdock is pretty close to Schultz’s character but Jackson’s portrayal of B.A. as hard as it is to compare his performance to Mr T’s B.A. just doesn’t feel real somehow. His trademark, “I pity the fool” just resonates throughout the film every time a scene with B.A. comes on. However, united as a team, the cast displays a sense of camaderie and close bond that is quite believable. Rounding up the rest of the cast is the sole female lead and Face’s love interest in the film, Charisa Sosa played well by Jessica Biel (Valentine’s Day, The Illusionist), CIA operative, Lynch by Patrick Wilson (The Phantom of the Opera) and bad guy, Pike by Brian Bloom (CSI, Oz).

It is well-paced and there is never a dull moment what with all the death-defying stunts and explosions. If there was a complaint, it would be that the audience have had to suspend their beliefs in more than one instance: the scene where they fly a tank in mid-air as well as the last few heavily-CGI-ied scenes involving the containers blasted into smithereens were a little hard to swallow.

However, all else doesn’t really matter since they did right by incorporating some of the things most cherished by fans of the series: Hannibal’s cigar-chewing habit, B.A.’s “I pity the fool” line and most importantly, the unforgettable theme song from the original series. Classic.

VERDICT: Distinction

Ching Yee Choo