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Iconic TV viewing that has transposed decades has finally made it to the big screen. Long touted for a big screen outing but spent languishing in the dark catacombs of development before finally being green lit, The A-Team movie has been the topic of many a debate from its cast line-up to the actual need to remake it itself.

Fans of the TV series will know what to expect here and will more than likely feel the same way leaving the film as they do going in. Ambivalence prevails over the A-Team which leaves us pondering was it really worth it or not?

Although the settings have been modernised the main plot points stay the same. Four mercenaries, Hannibal (Liam Neeson), B.A. (Rampage Jackson), Face (Bradley Cooper) and Murdoch (Shartlo Copley) become a hardcore special ops team that “specialise in the ridiculous”. Their mission is to find some stolen US Mint plates and clear their names, but this isn’t really about the plot. It’s about the action in-between, and there is plenty of that.

From the trailer alone you’ll know that this is a set piece spectacular with the most insane coming from dropping a tank out of a plane. This really is The A-Team. It’s explosive build leads to a somewhat disappointing finale which doesn’t really satisfy.

This could be due to the lack of character development. Action replaces any chance for the characters to become their own, with the exception of Copley none of the cast really shine as either a fresh take or homage to their originals. The dialogue that they are left to work with is dire, another factor that has been replaced with bullets and chases, in this case however perhaps it is due when the words spouted are such as “overkill is under-rated”.

Originally, ‘The A-Team’ was a testosterone fuelled frenzy that would end in a hail of gunfire from a home-made machine gun but where no-body actually got shot. It didn’t really make much sense and it didn’t really flow very well either but it left itself indelibly etched in our memories forever. In many way the movie incarnation does the same thing, over the top action and very little else.

Does this make it a bad movie? Not really, it’ll keep you munching away at your popcorn and transfixed at what’s going on if not leaving you a little deaf when you walk out. Its not going to be something you remember twenty years later unlike the small screen equivalent but it will provide you with suitable ammunition for discussion over whether or not it was really worth the big screen adaptation.

Archived: Review: The A-Team (2010) - archived
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