Review

Review Date: 13-June-10
Spoiler Rating: Low
Juju Judgment: Just OK

The A-Team (2010)

The concept behind The A-Team is a bit like Charlie's Angels. Each TV-show-turned-action-flick presents a selection of masculine or feminine archetypes which are simplistic to the point of shallow but are elevated by the qualities of competence and camaraderie. In both its '80s stint and current production, The A-Team strives to differentiate the characters while portraying them as a cohesive and heroic whole. We have the father figure with brains and authority (now played by Liam Neeson); the pretty boy who loves flirting with danger and the ladies (Bradley Cooper); the big lug with muscles and a sensitive side (Quinton "Rampage" Jackson); and the ace pilot with a bucket of screws loose (Sharlto Copley). United in friendship and purpose they are an unbeatable force, serving first the U.S. military and then regular citizens who fall prey to injustice.

Any movie built around human connection must have chemistry, and the chief problem with the new A-Team is that it has none. The actors seem suited to their roles yet they fail to jell into a believable or lovable unit. Much of the blame rests on a plot so forgettable one might lose the thread of it while it is unfolding. From Iran to Germany to the U.S. the guys flounder in a series of schemes and double-crosses focused on valuable counterfeiting equipment. Their good names are tarnished, wrongly of course, as they are hunted by a fellow (but female) soldier (Jessica Biel) and a CIA agent (Patrick Wilson). As counterpoint to the team's easygoing virility, Wilson illustrates what happens when a boy who got one too many noogies on the playground carries his feelings of impotence into manhood. Down with bluster and self-serving brutality, and up with tough and efficient altruism! The ideals of The A-Team deserve high marks. Too bad its lackluster reincarnation merits only a C.

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