"The A-Team" Film Talkback (Spoilers)

[Michael24]

There is no plan B.
http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/5697/ateamposter.jpg
"I love it when a plan comes together." - Col. John 'Hannibal' Smith
Release Date: June 11, 2010
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Director: Joe Carnahan
Starring: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Quinton Jackson, Sharlto Copley, Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson.

Plot Summary: An elite commando unit is sent to prison for a crime they didn't commit. Upon escaping from a maximum security facility, the four go on the run to clear their name with the U.S. military and find out who set them up. This adaptation of the popular 1980s television series features Neeson as Col. John "Hannibal" Smith, Cooper as Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck, Quinton Jackson as Sgt. B.A. Baracus, and Copley as Capt. H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock.

Visit the official movie site here (http://www.ateam-movie.com/).

Comments?

[launchpad20]

http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=504325&Gt1=28101


TV hardman Mr. T has slammed the film remake of "The A-Team" for featuring too much sex and violence.

The 58 year old played the original BA Baracus in the hit 1980s TV show but rejected a cameo role in the upcoming movie, starring Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper.

And after seeing a preview of the film, he says he's shocked with how graphic it is.

Mr. T says, "People die in the film and there's plenty of sex but when we did it, no one got hurt and it was all played for fun and family entertainment. These seem to be elements nobody is interested in anymore.

"It was too graphic for me. I've no doubt it will do big business at the box office but it's nothing like the show we turned out every week."

Apparently, Mr. T is not too happy with the new 'A-Team' movie.

[Shawn Hopkins]

Mr. T is a hardcore born-again Christian, though, so his standards might be different than the average moviegoers. Ebert actually talked about how sexless and gore free the thing is.

From what I've seen so far I'm kind of amazed. They've actually managed to make the A-Team look more cartoony than the low-budget 1980s children's show for adults was. There was a CGI sequence they showed on David Letterman that just looked ridiculous.

[Michael24]

Just got back from the first show. There were some things I liked and some I didn't.

My biggest complaint is the film's structure, as it seems to take too long to get to the core of things. First we open in Mexico for a (very) long pre-title sequence that introduces the characters and shows how they all first met. Then we jump forward several years to find them stationed in Iraq, being ordered to intercept a convoy carrying counterfeit US money plates and facing their subsequent court martial when they're set up. Then we again jump forward several months to their prison escape and plans for revenge. By the time of the heist/trial, probably close to 40 minutes have already gone by. I think it would have been better to just open the film in Iraq with the characters already a group and working together.

Once past the opening sequence in Mexico, which is the closest the film gets to being like the show (complete with GMC van and AC-556 Ruger Mini-14), the film basically becomes The A-Team: The Next Generation, as the basic elements of the show are jazzed up for newer audiences. It's still a lot of fun, though. Liam Neeson, while not a name I would have ever thought of for the part, is a perfect match for Hannibal and at times invokes the image of George Peppard. Bradley Cooper makes a good Faceman, though at times plays him a little wilder than Dirk Benedict. Quinton Jackson never tries to imitate Mr. T and makes B.A. his own. But the real standout is Sharlto Copley, who is dynamite as Murdock! He steals every scene he's in and has some true laugh-out-loud moments.

While the tone is much more serious and gritty than the original series, it never forgets that it's a popcorn action movie and certainly knows how to have fun. The relationships between the four reminded me of the show, so I was glad the filmmakers didn't lose sight of that amidst all the crazy wild action.

It's probably not the A-Team movie I would have made, but as a fan I was pretty happy with it and enjoyed finally seeing these characters on the big screen. I'd probably rate it a solid ***1/2, but I'm feeling generous and will give it **** instead.

As for Mr. T's comments, for all the violence in the film, hardly anyone is killed. A few nameless goons got taken out in an explosion, and one main bad guy is killed, but I think that's about it. And I don't know what he's talking about in terms of "plenty of sex." Faceman has a couple flings/flirtations with the ladies, but it wasn't much more than what was in the show.

Also, for those wondering, original series stars Dwight Schultz (Murdock) and Dirk Benedict (Faceman) do have cameos, but they are now shown after the end credits, as they were cut from the film itself.

[Tobias]

Maybe the version Mr. T saw was a rough cut of the film that hadn't been given the PG-13 rating yet.

[Michael24]

Maybe the version Mr. T saw was a rough cut of the film that hadn't been given the PG-13 rating yet.
I think his comments were released after the premiere, which he was invited to. I saw somewhere that the director had personally invited him into the editing room during post-production to show him some of the footage and said Mr. T seemed very happy and enthusiastic about what he saw. Like I said, in the finished film the violence is pretty tame (lots of shooting, but as mentioned still very little deaths, and those few that exist are hardly gruesome), and the "sex" is confined to basically just flirting.

EDIT: Although now (http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/06/10/mr-t-a-team-movie-denies-graphic/?xid=rss-movies-Mr.+T+rep+denies+%27A-Team%27+movie+quote) a rep for Mr. T is saying that he didn't say the comments that are being attributed to him because he hasn't seen the film yet.

[Silverstar]

Bradley Cooper makes a good Faceman, though at times plays him a little wilder than Dirk Benedict.

Yeah, I noticed that too. In some scenes of the trailers I saw, I remember thinking, "Cooper seems to be acting more like Murdock than Faceman there." Dirk's Benedict's Face was more calm and laid back.

[TKnHappyNess]

Maybe it's one of those "Movies for fans and people who never saw the show", just like Star Trek last year. I didn't see a lot of eps, yet the movie was enjoyable.

[Juu-kuchi]

Apparently, Mr. T is not too happy with the new 'A-Team' movie. Which is odd, since the movie, while having a few more deaths than the TV show, is still pretty tame. And in some of the action sequences, like the truck one in Iraq, the action is so vague that death is a possibility but it's not obvious.

That said, this movie is a decent effort with a well-casted troupe that knows who they are and what they are doing. However the narrative is just appalling. The movie knows how to make an entrance and make an exit, it's just that getting from point A to point B is so tedious. Then you have moments where the pacing and progression feels natural, then you have a scene where you swear that it's going to be another 10 minutes before something gets resolved. So the way the movie conducts its story drags it down a bit more than it should, which is a damn shame.

Also small nitpick, from the opening credits crawl, I was well aware that they would set the logo right after the opening sequence. Except that before that the opening credits said "Based on the TV series 'The A-Team'". If you're trying to build up tension to the movie title, it would probably be best NOT to reveal it during the small credits run. Yeah we know what movie we're watching, but seeing the main title in small print before it was supposed to be shown in a bombastic fashion is rather jarring.

**1/2

[DonkeyKongSong]

Caught the midnight show. 4 stars. It's a brainless action movie, and you know what you're getting into.

And I'm not familiar with the original TV series.

[hobbyfan]

As an A-Team fan from day one, I had this on the to-do list all the way back last year. Went to the first show today. Small, easily entertained crowd. We laughed at some of the sillier moments, though there were a few spots that had me doing facepalms.

Will there be a sequel? I hope so. I'm reading this thread and finding that Mr. T's flack is now claiming the criticism isn't T's after all? Hmmmmm. There's a sequence in the 2nd half of the movie in which BA becomes a pacifist as a nod to T's standing as a born-again Christian (which I also am). There's only the flirting between Face and Agent Sosa, with the payoff at the end of the movie, suggesting that Jessica Biel will be back if there's a sequel.

Walked out before the credits stopped, so I missed Benedict & Schultz's cameo. I noticed, too, another name from the past, much further than the original A-Team. Does anyone remember Stefan Arngrim (Alison's brother) from "Land of the Giants"? He's got a part in this movie, too.

[k.s.]

Caught the midnight show. 4 stars. It's a brainless action movie, and you know what you're getting into.

And I'm not familiar with the original TV series.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

I haven't seen the original show either, but I loved this movie. Everything was perfect, and I would love to see a sequel. 5 stars.

[KJ Styles]

DonkeyKongSong and KS, you guys must be youngsters. I think you should check out the A-Team TV series online or on DVD sometime, it was awesome. If you liked this movie, you'd LOVE the show.

That said, I agree with your opinion of the movie. It was a good popcorn flick and the guy that played Murdock was hilarious. Definitely one of the better TV remake movies. My rating is 4 stars.

[DonkeyKongSong]

Yeah, I'm 20 years old, born in the tail end of the '80s.

I'll check out the series when I get a chance. I'll add the first season to my Netflix queue.

[Michael24]

For people who have never seen the show but liked the movie, it'd be interesting to see their reactions. The original series has a lot of action, but is done with a much lighter tone than the movies. It was intended to be a spoof of the action genre, and at times the producers have even said it was a kids show. (There's a story that the network objected to something they found too comical in an early episode and asked, "What do you think you're making, a kids show?" and one of the producers replied, "That's exactly what we're making." Haha!!)

[Robin2099]

Just got back from it and I have to say that I really enjoyed this movie a lot. You could tell that the director and the writer were both huge fans of the series, especially with all the easter eggs that were scattered around the movie. The cast in this was fantastic, with Liam Neeson making a strong and capable Hannibal Smith. Bradley Cooper made for a good faceman and I think that the character here was better than the TV series. Rampage is ok, but Sharlito Copley is the true stand out and steals every scene as Murdock.

The action scenes were for the most part really well handled but some of the scenes were ruined by the return of my old nemesis the shaky cam. While not as annoying as in say Quantum of Solace, it does distract from the action in certain scenes.

Honestly I really liked this movie and would give it 4/5. Really fun time in the cinema and the perfect example of what a summer popcorn movie should be.

[Fett One]

I don't know if anyone else picked up on this or not but in the scene where they rescue Murdock from the psych ward, when the movie that he puts on starts, it displays a list of actors that are in the movie. One of the names that gets displayed is Reginald Barcley. That is the name of Dwighty Schultz (the original Murdock) character on Star Trek. I thought it was neat that they made a Star Trek reference that actually had some relevance (however minor) to the A-Team.

[MarineCorps]

I was really nervous about how this movie would play out but it was actually really good. All the actors played their parts perfectly. Liam Neeson made a shockingly perfect Hannibal. Bradley Cooper did a great job as Face. A little wilder then then show but it worked out great. Jackson made BA his own character and didn't try at all to imitate Mr. T. And of course Sharlito Copley was an amazing Murdock. He criss crossed the line between sanity and insanity perfectly. The four put on a brilliant performance. They stayed true to their characters and screw what the reviewers think. Roger Ebert is out of touch anyways:anime:


This film deserved far more then the 26 million or so it made this weekend.:crying:

[Michael24]

Sharlto Copley is the true stand out and steals every scene as Murdock.

The Murdock moments that cracked me up the most:
* Barbecuing stakes with gunpowder!
* Hanging from the helicopter blade singing "You spin me right 'round."
* "B.A., look at all these switches and buttons! What do they do? I don't know! I'm so scared!"
* "You should see these bullets in 3D! It's like we're actually being shot at!"

:D

Really hoping I can catch this again sometime this week.


I don't know if anyone else picked up on this or not but in the scene where they rescue Murdock from the psych ward, when the movie that he puts on starts, it displays a list of actors that are in the movie. One of the names that gets displayed is Reginald Barcley. That is the name of Dwighty Schultz (the original Murdock) character on Star Trek. I thought it was neat that they made a Star Trek reference that actually had some relevance (however minor) to the A-Team.
The scene went by so quick, but afterwards I thought there'd been something in-jokey about the names in the credits, but wasn't sure exactly. Nice catch.