Early on, Colonel John ‘Hannibal’ Smith (Liam Neeson) philosophizes, “There’s a plan in everything, and I love it when a plan comes together.” In which case, if the plan was to make a film that captured the spirit of the original television series and was as enjoyable, then Smith would definitely not have loved The A-Team. A frenetic mess, the film is a series of spuriously linked extravagant set pieces that are as ludicrously implausible as they are badly executed.
Some times things are better left alone. Looking back, there was an unsophisticated approach to the series which was part of its appeal. Trying to simply update the premise is to gloss over much of what was so engaging about the 1980s TV show. It isn’t as simple as just giving the people the same names and one of them a distinctive haircut.
One strong feature of the TV series was the camaraderie between the four members of the A-Team. Here, the scenes involving the Team – Hannibal, Faceman (Bradley Cooper), B.A. Baracas (Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson) and Murdock (Sharlto Copley) – trading wisecracks and banter are the most enjoyable, but sadly there are too few of them. Instead we are subjected to a succession of action sequences that consist of appalling CGI effects and camerawork that is so jerky and close-up that it is all but impossible to figure out what is going on.
The story too doesn’t bear much scrutiny. It essentially revolves around the A-Team’s efforts to recover a number of plates used to forge American banknotes that are being smuggled by Saddam loyalist supporters. Forced to become soldiers of fortune, the members of the A-Team are also out to clear their names after the one-time members of the army’s elite Rangers had been dishonorably discharged for a crime they did not commit. Each member has his own specialist skill. Hannibal is the planner, Faceman is able to procure anything, including any woman he desires, H.M. “Howlin’ Mad” Murdock is well worthy of his name in addition to being a gifted pilot and B.A. Baracas is the driver. It’s a combination of talents that enables them to “specialize in the ridiculous.”
Director and co-writer Joe Carnahan appears to adopt the philosophy that if you keep things moving fast enough, no one will have a chance to get bored or to notice that it’s all nonsense. Unfortunately he is wrong on both counts.
Neeson does what he can with what he has to work with. What’s criminal is that his talents are so under utilized. The same however cannot be said for Jackson who is clearly out of his depth trying to do anything other than look tough. Bradley Cooper’s piercing blue eyes, bulging pecs and broad smile are exploited for all they are worth, most notably in his character’s pursuit of woman and one in particular, his Army Captain ex-girlfriend Charisa Sosa (Jessica Biel). Following his breakout performance in District 9, Sharlto Copley provides some anarchic humour as the mentally deranged Murdock.
The end credits are followed by a whimsical nod to the TV series involving members of both the current and past A-Teams. It is a nice moment which brought back fond memories of how things used to be, and reinforced how disappointing this was. This time around they are not so much the A-Team as the D Team.
Kevin Murphy
