This was supposed to be the year that Hollywood studio, Twentieth Century Fox, started hiring talented directors with whom they would not bully, or interfere with, in order to produce a higher quality of blockbuster than they were used to. Alas, with The A-Team, the movie adaptation of the popular 80's TV show, it's business as usual.
The Fox mandate is to produce product that is as broadly entertaining as possible, thus creating the biggest potential possible to generate revenue. Risky creative decisions are minimised and storytelling that might dissuade certain demographics are discouraged. Hiring hip, gritty director Joe Carnahan (Smokin' Aces / Narc) seemed like an inspired choice to give this reboot some genuinely fresh substance. But alas, either by his own doing, or by the usual massive studio interference, The A-Team is generic as dishwater. There's nothing in the editing, camera style, location, plot, lighting or music to distinguish it from any other big budget action thriller out there. The plot is too contrived and complicated and the CGI is middling to poor, at best.
Worst of all is the cast. They're really not bad at all. But when your going up against the original 19880's cast of Peppard, T, Bennedict and Schultz you better have something spectacular. They don't. Liam Neeson is solid as Hannibal but lacks Peppards swagger and charisma. Bradley Cooper, as feared, plays Face as an annoying Jock; a loud obnoxious Yank with no self awareness of what a jerk he is. Rampage Jackson is fine as T but just doesn't have Mr T's iconic personality. Coming the best off is Sharlto Copley as Murdoch, claiming all the best lines and winning by default because he's the only genuinely likable member of the cast.
What works? Well Patrick Wilson (from Watchmen/Hard Candy) shows his versatility by getting stuck into bad guy duties, chewing the scenery whenever he can. There's a fun sequence with a parachuting tank (when the effects aren't ruining it) and it has a fun, light tone on occasions. The problem is it wants to adhere to the Fox template of 'all things to all people'. So it's neither a thriller, nor a family adventure, nor a comedy....and the result is a perfectly enjoyable but instantly forgettable affair. Say what you want about Charlies Angels, but McG picked a style and stuck to it, rather than the bland indecision on display here. After the long development period, this is a major disappointment.
1 comment:
Utterly forgettable fluff - just like the TV show it is based on - only not as much fun.
You are right. The plot was far too convoluted. The point of The A-Team was not about devious political shenanigans and double crosses and espionage, it was about beating up bad guys, firing lots of ammo and never hitting anyone, making silly gadgets out of stuff lying around in sheds and, above all, just having loads of silly daft fun with an enormously charismatic and likable cast. It was weekly TV action pantomime. The new guys are mostly ok but that's about as far as it goes. Neeson sure can do an intense tough guy (as seen in Taken) but has trouble being a light-hearted fun lover like Peppard effortlessly could. Cooper is just as brash and annoying as he is in everything. Rampage Jackson looks the part as B.A. (minus the gold) and delivers the famous B.A. lines decently enough, but he has nowhere near the natural larger than life presence of T. Like you say, only Sharlto Copley as Murdock really shines. He does a great job and is loads of fun to watch, though you still can't beat Dwight Shultz.
To be honest, I'm not sure they could ever have made a 'good' movie of The A-Team that properly honoured its spirit. The original show is just so utterly daft, formulaic, childish and goofy and very much of its time. That's what gives it its charm. Something this movie is sorely lacking. For all his faults, McG did a smart thing with the Charlie’s Angels films. They ain’t exactly good, but they do work as over the top cartoons/affectionate send-ups of the original. The A-Team movie works as nothing except a run of the mill, generic actioner.
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