“In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them….maybe you can hire The A-Team.”
Oh yeah! That monologue brings it all flooding back doesn’t it? For me it’s Saturday tea times in the early to mid-1980’s around at my grandparent’s house in front of the old wooden box-TV with lemon curd sandwiches. Oh yes, the memories. THE A-TEAM was simply my favourite TV show of the time. Probably of all-time. We all wanted to be as handsome as Face, as mean as B.A. and as funny as Murdock, and then there was the van. Oh, BA’s van – black with the red striped trim. I also had all of the toys from the figurines to the Mattel metal toy cars. The t-shirts, the sweaters, the socks. I idolised the show, as did a lot of other kids my age, and in some way still do.
I must admit, when remakes come along of your favourite movie or TV show, it firstly reminds you just how old you are, and secondly you are suddenly filled with heavy mixed emotions. You really want to see a new project capture the spirit and essence of your beloved past joy, but then again you really don’t want them to ‘f’ it up. A bit like an ex-girlfriend. You really don’t want to see her miserable or alone having moved on and left her for pastures new, as you enjoyed the time that you had, but at the same time you don’t want to think about her sleeping with other men. Okay, bad metaphor – I will now start the review.
So, the remake/ re-do/ reboot or whatever you want to call it of THE A-TEAM comes to screens from the filmmaker that brought us the hugely enjoyable NARC and SMOKIN’ ACES, Joe Carnahan. Here, he has assembled Liam Neeson to take the role of Captain Hannibal Smith, the attractive Bradley Cooper to play Templeton ‘Face’ Peck, Sharlto Copley to play Howlin’ Mad Murdock, and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson to play B.A. Baracus. Also on board, to provide a female interest, is the also rather attractive Jessica Biel, here playing an old flame of Face and fellow Army Lieutenant, Charissa Sosa. So, first of all, let’s talk about Carnahan’s casting. Being a critic and news reporter for ‘the movies,’ we got wind of the casting way before filming started, and personally I think that Carnahan has hit the nail bang on the head with the casting of hot property Bradley Cooper as Face, and DISTRICT 9 star Sharlto Copley as Murdock. Bang on! Cooper is charming, sexy and funny – a perfect face for erm, Face, while Copley’s hugely comic turn as Murdock is massively reminiscent of Dwight Schultz‘s performance in the original show. Then there’s Liam Neeson as Hannibal. When this was announced, to be honest, I winced. An Irishman playing Hannibal? Really? I was really holding out for George Clooney to play this role, as surely Colonel Hannibal Smith IS the character that he was born to play. Well, for whatever reason that casting didn’t happen, and Neeson bagged the part but to be honest, he does a really good job at playing the lead role, holding the team together and even his accent is pretty good. Lastly there is possibly the character that is possibly one of the most iconic of the decade. Bosco A. Baracus. Now, we all know that allegedly Mr. T didn’t want anything to do with this movie, and I can understand why, but who was going to take on this massive role (massive role for the actor, and massive shoes to fill). Well, after the likes of Ice Cube and Tyrese were mentioned (possibly when John Singleton was still on board to direct), the role went to IFC star, and the relatively unknown Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson. I was hugely sceptical to be honest. A untested actor playing one of the biggest roles…. ever? Yep. Well, again… I hate to say it… but he’s pretty good. Jackson captures the essence and spirit of Mr. T’s classic character. The toughness and also the vunerableness can be seen in Jackson’s performance… and yes, he still ain’t gettin’ on no plane!
The film opens in a Mexican setting where we get to see the origin of the formation of the team. We are introduced to each character individually, and discover that while Hannibal and Face knew each other in the Rangers, Baracus and Murdock were added afterwards (Hannibal ‘hitches’ a lift with BA as he escapes from a group of hostile Mexicans), while Murdock is employed as a helicopter pilot for the next mission. We get to see how the team were stitched up and sent to a military stockade for six months, how they broke out, and how they ‘nearly’ redeemed their status. It’s a lot of fun, and while I have my negative thoughts about the over the top action, questionable dialogue in places and a few other minor points, overall I really liked it. I actually watched the extended DVD and Blu-Ray version (on BD), which coming in at over two hours, is a lengthy watch, but in staying true to the original whilst also adding new flavours, Carnahan’s A-TEAM could actually be one of the better remakes of late.
I was worried of it being too over the top. I was worried that there would be too much humour, so much that it tipped into farce territory (like Todd Phillips’ STARSKY AND HUTCH), and I was worried that I would walk away have been let down. Turns out that I’m glad that my old love is being banged by a different guy (such a terrible metaphor).
Grade: B+
Extras
So, I reviewed the release on a stunning triple-play BD/ DVD/ Digital combo. I watched the film on a high-def TV from the Blu-Ray source. The colours and visuals are suitable stunning and the sound was loud, and to be honest AWESOME. I have probably annoyed most of my neighbours with amping it up to maximum levels on Sunday evening when I viewed the film. We also have about 90 minutes of additional content including The Devil’s in the Details: Inside the Action with the Director, a nice little featurette featuring Mr. Joe Carnahan, a funny(ish) gag reel, The A-Team Theme Mash Up Montage, Plan of Attack, Character Chronicles, and a featurette called Visual Effects Before and After, which speaks for itself. Some of the features are fairly run of the mill, but the real gems is the extented edition, and the fact that on the BD release, you get a DVD and digital copy, which I think is fantastic value.
So, to sum it all up. Fans of the show I think will like it, a newbies will find themselves a fun, action film from one of Hollywood’s more exciting directors, and people on the fence will be pleasently surprised. I really liked it.
The Details:
Release date: 29 November 2010
Cert: 12 (DVD)/ 15 (Blu-ray)
Price: 19.99 (DVD)/ 24.99 (Blu-ray Triple Play)
Special Features – DVD
- Digital Copy
- Director’s commentary
- A-Team highlights Mash-up Montage
Special Features – Blu-ray Triple Play (three disc set with character art-cards)
- Extended feature (extra 15 mins)
- Deleted scenes
- Gag reel
- Director’s commentary
- A-Team highlights mash-up montage
- Plan of attack – making of featurette
- Character chronicles (x 6)
- Special effects featurette
- Interactive behind-the-scenes featurette with Joe Carnahan
