Like this year’s remake of Clash of the Titans where in tossing aside the mechanical droid owl that was present in the 1981 original, the filmmakers were saying, “This is not the film your daddy saw when he was a kid,” there is a moment in the big screen redo of the television series, The A-Team, that shares the same sentiment.
Those who remember the ‘80s action adventure series that ran from 1983 to 1987 will likely recall the mode of transportation the four fugitives rode in; a black GMC van with the red stripe on the side. That van, which B.A. Baracus (Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson) calls “his girl” makes an appearance early on in this big screen redo only to get flattened as he and fellow comrades-in-arms, team leader Col. Hannibal Smith (Liam Neeson), Lt. Templeton ‘Faceman’ Peck (Bradley Cooper) and Howling Mad Murdock (Sharlto Copely) escape in a helicopter from whom I assume are Mexican drug dealers.
“You pancaked my van,” B.A. says. “I’m gonna kill you, fool!”
“You can’t park there, it’s a handicapped zone,” says Murdock.
All the elements that made the television series successful during the show’s five seasons are present. Neeson, Cooper, Jackson and Copley retain their previous counterpart’s mannerisms. This wouldn’t be The A-Team if somewhere throughout the film, Hannibal did not utter the line, “I love it when a plan comes together,” as he lights a cigar.
Cooper’s Face is the ladies man just like Dirk Benedict’s character was except here, he has just one love interest with an attractive no-nonsense government operative (Jessica Biel) who’s hot on their tail. Copely, from last summer’s sci-fi hit District 9, continues to expand his acting abilities proving he is capable of more roles, while Jackson’s B.A. Baracus gets to push the bad guys through walls and develop a fear of flying, much like Mr. T’s character.
The villains, much like the television series, however, are undeveloped, cardboard characters who aren’t sinister enough to make us want to root for their demise in the end. If all one is looking for, however, is the chance to watch a lot of things get blown up every so often and guns blazing, The A-Team movie offers plenty of that. I just wish the film were as much fun as the television show was.
