johnlink ranks THE A-TEAM (2010)
I was stuck at work last night because we had to run down That Stupid ECLIPSE Movie to make sure it works. Once all the customers left, I figured I could take some time to watch a movie I wanted to see, and not TSEM. On the plus side, I finally caught the A-TEAM. On the minus side, I found out the sound in theater 3 wasn’t working so I watched it without surround sound.
I watched THE A-TEAM (2010) in theaters on 6.29.10. It was my first viewing of the film. TRAILER HERE
I want to make it clear, at the beginning here, that this is a fun, fun movie. It’s big and loud and funny and it brings smiles. The actors did a surprisingly good job of bringing these four characters back to life, while modernizing the world in an organic way. I liked the chemistry, and I enjoyed the heck out of this film.
I say that to start, because there is a lot which could have been better. I look forward to a sequel where these characters are more lived in. The origin story was great, but I’d love to just let these guys go now.
I wish some of the action wasn’t quite so unbelievable. Setting aside the fact that the camera often didn’t let us see what was happening very clearly, the top three eye-rolling moments are as eye-rolling as the worst of LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD. They include: 1) landing a free-falling tank from tens of thousands of feet by using its cannon firing downward to work as a counterweight. 2) A single grenade blowing up an entire tanker and sending its cargo, hundreds of containers each weighing tons, fumbling down to the dock as the heroes stealthily avoid them. 3) A body slam on a well-trained fighter killing him. How does the guy not know how to take that fall by now?
I wish Murdock (Sharlto Copley from DISTRICT 9) was more well-used. He is just… sort of there for some of the film. I don’t mind adding a female to the mix (Jessica Biel) and I liked that they inserted her as a member of the team’s past, but I wonder how she will be involved going forward.
I wish the writers were as good at plot as they were dialogue. The story of the team is fine, but the MacGuffin (in this case US Minting plates) is fairly weak. I know that chasing a nuke is cliche, but at least it seems like something worth killing yourself for!
But all that said, I left the theater smiling. I was particularly impressed with UFC fighter Rampage Jackson filling in for Mr. T. I went in thinking I would like Bradley Cooper as Face, and Liam Neeson as Hannibal. I was not disappointed in either.
In the end, I was left wanting more. I hope this film makes enough to earn them a sequel, because the A-Team is a fun team to watch!
SCORES
FILM: 3; MOVIE: 8; ACTING: 5; WRITING: 5 (What is this?)
3+8+5+5+0=21
FINAL SCORE: 5.25
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