The A-Team

The concept of the A-Team TV series was ludicrous enough to begin with so it’s hardly surprising that Joe Carnahan (putting on a Michael Bay mask it seems) takes the mayhem all the way up to 11 with this film version. Everything must be bigger, faster and louder. Better though? In some ways, yes. In a lot of other ways, no. Carnahan as director was certainly an eyebrow-raising choice to handle this picture and it’s hard to think this is the same guy behind the blistering Narc (though, I suppose Smokin’ Aces was a sign of carnage to come). Has Carnahan just taken the dollar with this one though? If you consider he was originally slated to direct M-I:III until leaving due to the old conflict of views (i.e. you assume Carnahan wanted a darker tone), you would assume a summer flick like this with virtually no real plot or characterisation wouldn’t be his cup of tea at all. In terms of the casting you are probably aware of who has taken the four main roles. Not much thinking has gone into who plays who, but in effect it doesn’t really matter, as the main problem with the film is that it has little feel of the A-Team to it. Whilst the actors do a good job (unlike poor Jessica Biel hopelessly mis-cast as a cop), after 30 minutes you will have forgotten that they are actually mean to be the A-Team characters as they come across as just another gang of misfits fighting the baddies whilst trying not to fight amongst themselves. Indeed, the occasional efforts to inject any A-Team related mythology (BA’s fear of flying etc) stick out like a sore thumb. Carnahan at least does try to entertain by throwing together a whole load of action scenes. Some are great, but the majority are heavily reliant on special effects and any excitement quickly dissipates as things become more silly. Whilst The Losers, a film with a similar premise and a similar lack of a grasp of reality, did entertain, this just bores. The ending is also a huge let down though, with any smarts lost amongst an utterly ludicrous amount of further un-thrilling CGI. The tag-line for this film was “There is No Plan B”. Never a truer word spoken.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
Baring little real resemblance to the original TV show, this is by the numbers film making for its target audience, who should at least be entertained. Rating: 5/10