So I saw the A Team as a part of Movie Mondays, partly because there was nothing else coming out and partly because I wanted to look at Bradley Cooper shirtless. I had also been looking forward to being able to compare this movie with The Losers, although it now seems so long ago I wonder if anyone even remembers that movie came out this summer? The A-Team came in second in it’s opening day weekend coming in behind The Karate Kid and brining less than half of it’s gross earning with only $25 million. In any event, I was entertained for the most part.
The plot is fairly simple and follows a team of mis-fit Army Rangers with a highly successful mission rate during one last mission in Iraq when they are framed for stealing printing press plates and a billion dollars. They must then work together to save their name. (Much like The Losers). The movie includes the original characters, (apparently) Face, Murdock, Hannibal , and Mr. T/Boscoe.
Now, the tv series was before my time, so I can’t recognize if the movie was in keeping with the series. I do know that the decision was made to include guns, killing people, and sex (?) in the movie which is a step up from the non-lethal non-gun non-sex tv series. Personally, I think this was a good decision because the audience has grown up and so should the movie. I hate ‘action’ movies where nobody actually dies. They’re all just knocked out in a harmless way. Let’s face it, this is not how things go down in Iraq so I agree with the decision to amp up the violence in the movie. The plot is simple but it does keep you entertained. Although there are a lot of players with different motives which was hard for me to follow in the beginning. When things started to come together towards the end, I then began to realize who everyone was and what their motives were. The plot in the end was semi-believable, although I highly doubt that automobile airbags nailed to a semi could really keep it afloat in a river.
The cinematography was done nicely with fast paced editing and upbeat sound mixing. Bradley Cooper’s shirtless scenes were shot at the right angles and everything else flowed nicely. The only problem in the movie was the CGI and especially the final sequence. It was just ridiculously fake looking and should have been left out or the scale decreased. Because the effects were so bad in this final scene, the whole suspense and anticipated was removed. So the ending of the movie felt a little anti-climatic to me personally because I was removed from the action and suspense because of this awful effects sequence.
The movie was actually quite humorous, due to Bradley Cooper, “Rampage” Jackson , and the guy from District 9. They had some really funny bits in the movie, especially Sharlto Copley ( the District 9 guy). I was actually quite surprised as I read he wasn’t an actor before being cast in what would become his critically acclaimed role in District 9 but he really held his own in this movie. “Rampage” Jackson is also apparently a famous UFC fighter and he held his own as well. I’ve been told his portrayal is different from the original but I can’t opine on that. Bradley Cooper was Bradley Cooper. Liam Neeson was not funny and was a little too serious for his role. Bruce Willis was actually considered for this role, and honestly probably would have been a better choice. On the plus side Liam Neeson, ages well and looked good on screen.
Overall, the movie was entertaining. It wasn’t anything special, amazing, or memorable although it kept my attention long enough in the theater. It would make a great rental choice and my attention was kept in the theater. I have no idea how it compares to the series although it is more violent. I’d recommend to anyone looking for an entertainingly humorous action flick. “Are they trying to shoot the drones down? …No, they are trying to fly that tank” – The A-Team.
No comments:
Post a Comment