I’m just going to go out and say it: The A-Team is the best movie of the summer—thus far. Now, I might lose all critic credibility, but considering I didn’t have much to begin with, I’m willing to take the risk. Not to mention, if I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say, “critics always hate the good movies and like the boring ones”, I’d have enough money to pay off my film school loans, but I digress. Back to what I was saying, the A-Team is the best movie I’ve seen this summer.
Before I get deep into A’s shallow story-line and thin characters, I need to take a moment and clarify what makes a good summer movie. Independence Day, Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean, Spiderman, Lord of the Rings, and most recently, The Dark Knight all come to mind when I think of great summer movies. A summer movie is like a soda, full of things we know are bad for us, yet great with popcorn. They’re big and loud, silly and often predictable. But if done right, they are some of the most entertaining and endearing films we as an audience get to watch. That being said, summer movies aren’t known for their brains or emotions, of course there are exceptions, but for the most part they are known for scale and flash, which is why I go into a summer movie with lower expectations than I do in the winter, when all of the studios are trying to push their Oscar contenders. I sometimes have to turn a blind eye when neither plot nor logics are in abundance, which is the case in The A-Team.
The A-Team, much like The Losers (this summer’s other likable special unit force), are on a mission when they’re blackmailed and discharged by the U.S. Army (some of which were in the audience and enjoyed the movie thoroughly) and have to spend the rest of the time trying to solve the mystery of the betrayal and prove their innocence. I could go into further detail but there’s not much point as the plot barely held water when I was watching it and would definitely pour through my hands if I recounted. Let’s just say like any action/espionage picture, it travels the globe from scene to scene and no one is who they seem.
What makes The A-Team good is its cast. If The Losers ¬were the JV team, The A-Team, as their moniker implies, is Varsity. The actors are a little more famous and a little more talented. Liam Neeson leads the cast of misfits as the calm, collected, and always “a step-ahead”, Hannibal. I know James Brown is considered the hardest working man in show-biz, but Neeson could definitely give him a run for his money. The A-Team is his fourth film this year and still has one waiting in the wings. As always, Neeson brings credibility to the project and gravity to his character. Cheesy lines are forgiven because Neeson is able to say them with a sincerity that is out of reach for the script. But what the script and other actors have firmly in their grip is humor. Bradley Cooper (The Hangover), Sharlto Copley (District 9), and Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson (UFC fighter) mix like a bowl of M&M’s. Cooper is essentially the same character from Hangover, suave and witty, which isn’t too much of an issue because it hasn’t worn i
ts welcome, unlike the Michael Cera character (see Arrested Development, Juno, Superbad, Year One…basically any movie he’s been in). Copley plays a crazed pilot whose antics should annoy, but somehow don’t. And finally, replacing the infamous Mr. T, is ‘Rampage’ Jackson, who did surprisingly well in his first major role. If you’re looking for good character studies, look elsewhere. The A-Team are a bunch of caricatures that make know effort to show emotion or meaning beyond the surface. They did, however, keep the story moving and me in stitches. Characters that are fun to be around are essential to a good summer movie and The A-Team doesn’t disappoint.
Action-wise, it’s what I’ve come to expect: heavy CG to replace real stunts, close-ups so you can’t see the fighting, and editing that makes you dizzy. Luckily the creativity of the screenwriters kept the situations, like when the team has to figure out how to land a tank following from the sky, fresh enough to make up for the stale filming techniques. Jessica Biel (7th Heaven) is essentially a cog to keep the story moving and pretty face to look at. Her performance, as usual, is inconsequential. But don’t let these few hiccups keep you from seeing it. If you like over-the-top summer action movies, you’ll leave the movie entertained and happy, which is the point to seeing a movie, right?
Also, one last thing, if you’re a fan of the show, stay past the credits.
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More Information
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http://www.movieweb.com/movie/the-a-team
http://www.ateam-movie.com
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429493
