A Team Better Than Expected

For all of us who grew up in the eighties, The A team was a fixture in many a household. Pure action, albeit no one ever got killed no matter what happened. A car could flip over eighty seven times, drop off a cliff and explode and the people inside would walk away a little singed. Sure not realistic but it was fun. And while the death count of this movie is seriously higher, it's just as much fun.
Liam Neeson rocks as Hannibal, Bradley Cooper's Faceman is high jinks fun, Rampage Jackson as BB Baracas is dead on, and District Nine's Sharkto Copley is perfect as Mad Dog Murdock. The plot is typical of an A team episode. The beginning shows how the team formed and even how BA became afraid to fly in a thrilling and very funny action sequence. Jump forward eight years later, and the team gets caught in a ruse to steal billions of dollars and counterfeit plates, setting the stage for their legendary escape and flight from the law. Watchman's Patrick Wilson and Brian Bloom's Pike (The Stuff) are great bad guys and Jessica Beil does her best in a slight role in a much needed female interest part. The fact she's drop dead gorgeous doesn't hurt either.
The film is high energy and lots of fun. The audience we saw it with, loved it. It's too bad because it's tanking at the theater. A big WTF to studio executives who opened it opposite the Karate Kid (I loathe that title), splitting their audience. Had they opened just about any other weekend, the numbers would have been much bigger. Director Joe Carnahan has a blast with the film like he did with the underrated Smokin' Aces 1 and 2. But after his understandable but ill advised tirades against Nikki Fink and studio executives I fear it will be a while before he works again. If you want a good time at the movies, go check this one out. It's a hoot.

3 and 1/2 stars out of 5