Climbing Higher Pictures

Not in the mood for an 80′s reboot? Neither was I, which is why I didn’t see The Karate Kid. Instead I sat down with one of the more pleasantly surprising action flicks in recent memory, and though it might have the same characters as the cheesy TV serial, it certainly wasn’t a dated exercise. Does this squad based movie make its mark where The Losers did not?

A-Team Review

By Ryan Hamelin

Movie Grade: B+

This is going to be a very easy way to find out what reviewers you agree with. The critical world is an even split between positives and negatives for Joe Carnahan’s $110 million film reboot of the 80’s television series. About half of them decry the film for its brainless action sequences, fast cutting, and overall disposable movie-going experience. The rest are praising it for its breath-of-fresh-air purely entertaining stance on what a summer popcorn movie should be, and loving every minute of it. Well listen up, ye curmudgeon senior citizen reviewers of yesteryear. This IS NOT an example of what’s wrong with the modern film industry. See Twilight, Jonah Hex, and possibly The Expendables for that perspective. Those are movies which are painfully and infuriatingly aimed at the lowest common denominator, without even the decency to admit how ludicrously stupid they are. The A-Team, on the other hand, is completely at peace with its subject matter, and does the one thing that you need a film like this to do in order to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. It doesn’t take itself seriously; at least, not in the way that the worst offenders often do.

From the opening sequence, you should know exactly how you feel about watching Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, and Sharlto Copley run around blowing stuff up and trying to clear their names. As Jessica Biel’s character wisely warns her compatriots, “They are the best team we have, and they specialize in the ridiculous.” Much of the movie hinges on just those qualities. I avoided mentioning Quinton “Rampage” Jackson because A) There’s really no reason anyone would know who he is unless they were a loyal viewer of UFC, and B) because Mr. T was one of the more obnoxious members of the original cast, and had such a large amount of creative control over his character that you’d be right to be fearful of a retread. Luckily, Jackson plays a pretty understated version of B.A. Baracus here, and those worried for a lot of “Pity the Fool” cheese can breathe a sigh of relief. In many ways, he’s the most impressive member of the group, if only because he holds his own in spite of such talented and established actors as Neeson and Cooper. Another surprise is Copley who has an absolute blast as Murdoch, demonstrating a significant range from Wikus in District 9, and making a name for himself as a face worth following in the coming years.

As for Liam Neeson, well, he’s Liam Neeson. As one of the few actors left who can carry that kind of weight and presence just by walking into a room, he makes a great Hannibal, and there’s really nothing else you need to know. Bradley Cooper finds an interesting foothold as both the good looks, and the second best brains of the operation. Letting him come up with the final plan for the team was a great role reversal moment, as Hannibal has been built up as the mastermind to that point.

That brings me to the script, which works in a surprisingly large number of ways for the entire runtime of the movie. The villains and the twists are interesting from a cerebral level, but much like last summer’s Star Trek, they take a back seat to the interactions of the main characters, and it helps keep the audience interested. The first 20 minutes serves as the entirety of many origin story films, like the first chapters of your favorite superhero franchises, while it then jumps ahead and tells a really badass established-team movie as well, something you normally don’t get to see until the second or even third installment of other series. That kind of narrative flow doesn’t give much breathing room, and the pacing is one of the movie’s strongest assets. You’re never bored, never left with enough time to question the physics of a particularly ludicrous stunt, and always entertained. The dialogue is also really solid, with one-liners and witty comebacks flying fast and furiously. There’s no wasted talking here, and while that may seem like it undercuts the character development, it actually makes the leads more relatable even faster. It’s impressive to see a Hollywood popcorn movie achieve so much in such a short time, but that’s a tribute to the acting talent involved and the director who brought it all together.

In other words, just about every negative review I’ve had a chance of reading appears to be attacking the film for exactly the things that make it so much fun. I’m not gonna to lie, I wasn’t particularly blown away by any of the buzz leading up to the release, and judging from the success of The Karate Kid, a lot of other people weren’t either. However, that doesn’t stop the movie from working incredibly well, and delivering on the promise of summer action fare while being legitimately a great time at the movies. Be sure to check this one out on as big a screen as possible, as the full theater experience is where it will shine the brightest.