Film File - The A-Team
Nostalgic 1980s TV action makes a comeback with this new version of legendary series 'The A-Team', this time updated from its post-Vietnam ethos to a group of Iraq War veterans forced to become mercenaries for hire. Directed by Joe Carnahan, the lead role is taken by Liam Neeson as Colonel John 'Hannibal' Smith, the brains of the operation, aided and abetted by Bradley Cooper as Lt Templeton 'Faceman' Peck, American football star Quinton Rampage Jackson as Bosco 'BA' Baracus, and Sharlo Copley as Howling Mad Murdoch. Jessica Biel provides the female interest as investigator, Captain Charisa Sosa. The original series, which ran from 1983-'87 and starred George Peppard, Mr T, Dirk Benedict and Dwight Schultz, followed an unofficial team of Vietnam vets who would stop at nothing to get the bad guys. Sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit, the four commandos escaped from a maximum-security stockade to survive in the Los Angeles underground as soldiers of fortune. Stephen J Cannell, who created the TV show, came out of retirement to produce the movie with Ridley and Tony Scott - the English brothers known for their heroic, all-action movies. Carnahan and screenwriters Brian Bloom and Skip Woods grab the attention from the get-go with Hannibal about to be devoured by savage dogs - a problem he neatly solves, of course - and Faceman seconds from being burned alive by a cuckolded husband. With introductions skilfully inserted during the opening credits, we learn the good guys have been engaged in ultra-covert military operations for the US Army only to find themselves neatly stitched up and double-crossed as the accused perpetrators of an engraving plate scam in Iraq. Despite being convicted and sent to different prisons, they manage to escape and regroup, intent on clearing their names. Hot on their trail is Agent Sosa, who once had a thing with Face but now hates him, plus a shady CIA operative known only as Lynch (Patrick Wilson). Essentially a series of action set pieces with some breathing space intrigue as the glue to hold the paper-thin plot together, this is a no-holds barred, knock-down actioner all the way. Add in plentiful laughs of the macho kind, and you've essentially got the basic lines of the story. In short, this is no 'Inception'. Rather, it an easygoing piece of entertainment for the guys and the gals who might come along to please them. One of the best scenes has a spectacular helicopter shootout set against a glass skyscraper background, which leads to the A-Team being launched inside a tank which they manfully 'fly' from midair danger to terra firma safety. Considering Neeson signed up for this one shortly after his wife's tragic death, he brings a very credible brain and brawn combination to the role, and plays well with the repartee amongst the other misfits - particularly Cooper as the vain 'Faceman'. As the man to take the role of the Iconic Mr T, sadly Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson fails to ignite. He does get to say "I pity the fool" - but with that menacing anger that made the original so effective. Overall, 'The A-Team' has enough testosterone and humour to satisfy all but the most demanding fans of the original. As for the new generation who've never seen the original TV series, they'll be very pleased with this film the Old Man has been going on about. And, doubtless, Hollywood will decree that sequels will also be the order of the day in due course.