The A-Team Review

The theme of this weeks releases seems to be nostalgia. With one being a re imagining of a movie from from the 80's and the other a television series from the 80's. The one currently in question is the A-Team, about a group of four men who became soldiers for hire after being framed for a crime they didn't commit. But you know that already, right?

So how does the film compare to the original series? Well I honestly am not the best person to ask for such a comparison. Having never seen a single episode of the show, with my only knowledge being that Mr. T was a star in it. Though it's safe to assume the overall plot is entirely new, with only the theme of four men becoming soldiers for hire linking the two together.

So lets move on to the characters starting with the A-Team themselves. These four guys are the reason you want to watch this movie. Each of their personalities are distinct and they pair well with each other, and it is their chemistry that keeps you invested. Liam Neason plays the leader of the team, Hannibal, and is just as cool as he is in almost every movie he stars in. The man has played everything from Dark Man to a Jedi, and he even trained freaking Batman. If Taken proved anything it's you don't mess with Liam Neason. I have to give much praise to Sharlto Copley who plays Murdock for brings an insane energy to the film and provides a majority of the jokes.

Now the downside of the characters for the movie would be the villains. The CIA acts as the main antagonists for the film, more specifically a man by the name of Lynch along with a few of his cohorts. These characters come across as frat boy douche bags who make jokes about how hot a chick is or how cool the explosion was. I hated every second these nimrods took screen time away from the more interesting A-Team.

Another strike against the movie is the story itself and how it is pieced together. The plot is so paper thin if you sneezed in the theatre it might blow the picture clear off the screen. It doesn't help that poor editing and bad pacing hinder it even further. I also have a major pet peeve with digital effects being used when practical effects could just as easily achieve the same effect with better results. The entire final action sequence of the movie is one huge mess of CG effects thrown together in the most nonsensical plan ever.

The A-Team has plenty of flaws, but the team themselves help keep it from falling into truly awful territory. Check it out for a bit of a fun and a few laughs, but don't be surprised if you find a few bits annoying.

Final Score: C+