The A-Team

The A-Team
Directed by: Joe Carnahan
Cast: Liam Neeson as Colonel "Hannibal" Smith
Bradley Cooper as Lt. Templeton "Faceman" Peck
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson as B.A. Baracus
Sharlto Copely as Murdock
Jessica Biel as Charisa Sosa
Rated: PG-13
*The following may contain spoilers*
Overview:
Its 1983 and every pre-teen and teenage male is turning on their television set, anxiously awaiting the sound of a trumpet playing that pure, red-blooded, All-American theme music. Then, there it is: a huge, black, tricked out van comes barreling through the desert toward the screen. And the audience goes wild, excited and ready for the newest episode of The A-Team. Fast-forward to June 11, 2010. Opening night of the big-screen version of the A-Team tv show. Before the credits start to roll, we seen two guys try to shoot Hannibal, B.A. beats up a garage of full of thugs and Face is seen with a Latino woman, both in robes and it's mentioned that they've slept together, even though she's married...albeit to a bad guy that's currently trying to kill the two of them. Face even begins to drop the f-word (the first of two times in the film), but is cut-off midstream. This very quick and somewhat telling, opening scene provides enough of a foundation for parents of younger children, and teens as well, to be cautious of the rest of the film.

Positive Attributes:
The film does display many great messages about friendship, loyalty and obeying authority, all of which are great lessons that everyone should learn. However, these themes begin to get a little obvious throughout the movie and among the explosions, punches and bullets.

Negative Attributes:
Multiple references are made to "Face" (Bradley Cooper) being a player. Not only is it mention that he slept with a married woman, he mentions something "done in a bedroom" while listening to a CD and once tells a jail guard that she "left something on the bed" in his cell and she picks up a thin, red piece of fabric (its unclear what exactly it is, but judging by her smile, its implied that it's underwear). In the same jail cell scene, a couple magazines are briefly seen with pictures of women on the front. The language is a lot less than most PG-13 movies, but still more than I usually like. Multiple exclamations of s**t pepper the particularly on-edge, adrenaline-fueled scenes (such as when B.A. is hanging out of a helicopter). Jesus and God's name are both taken in vain several times, God's is paired with d**n 4 times. And finally, B.A., one of the main characters names stands for Bad-A**. The violence may also be a little too much for younger audiences, but less blood appears than in normal action flicks. The only appearance of blood I can recall is when one character gets shot in the arm, and bleeds a bit in view of the camera. We see the wound again later, being stitched up by a doctor.

Summary
I was incredibly excited for this movie, ever since I saw the first commercial. I mean, Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper, two of my favorite actors, together in the same movie?! Yes, I had to see this. As a result, I was at one of the first showings opening weekend. And i must admit, I walked out of the theater in awe. Despite the negative aspects mentioned above, this movie had everything I look for in a film. The plot was pretty good, with several twists that were only visible about a minute before they were revealed. The actors each portrayed the characters beautifully and convincingly (my favorite was Murdock). And of course, it had all the crazy, unbelievable, yet still amazing stunts that one would expect after seeing the commercial. Also, it kept most of the good parts out of the commercial, keeping a few surprises in store for the audience. Honestly, the entire A-Team film can be described in three great words from Hannibal: "Overkill is underrated." So, for everyone looking for a good, fun action movie at the box office, I would recommend The A-Team. Yes, it has its faults, but its one of the cleanest and best action films I've seen in a long while.

Personal Rating: 8.5 out of 10
Plot: 9 of 10
Sexuality/Sensuality: 2 of 10