If all you want out of a movie is dumb summer fun you could do much worse than "The A-Team," especially if you're a fan of the original series.
Preposterous doesn't even begin to describe the set pieces in this film, but at least it's got a sense of humor, which is something that far too few big action films lack. Sharlto Copley comes up from behind to give the film's best performance as the crazy Murdock, but he's in good company with Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper, who do exactly what they're asked to do. (And I want the services of Cooper's personal trainer).
Jessica Biel, in the grand tradition of female agents in films like this, does her job while wearing spike heels and chic leather trenchcoats, and Patrick Wilson (of all people) is almost too effective as a smarmy villain (you want to see far worse things happen to him than actually do).
This movie taught me quite a lot. Like, I didn't know you could steer a free-falling Army tank through the air by shooting its guns in the opposite direction of the one you want to go. I didn't even know a tank's guns would work while free-falling through the air. And I also didn't know you could duck and cover your way through a rain of railway cars falling off of a giant cargo ship if you were just agile enough. So maybe I should revise my initial opinion -- maybe I'm the dumb one, and this film is smart as a whip. Grade: A-
Preposterous doesn't even begin to describe the set pieces in this film, but at least it's got a sense of humor, which is something that far too few big action films lack. Sharlto Copley comes up from behind to give the film's best performance as the crazy Murdock, but he's in good company with Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper, who do exactly what they're asked to do. (And I want the services of Cooper's personal trainer).
Jessica Biel, in the grand tradition of female agents in films like this, does her job while wearing spike heels and chic leather trenchcoats, and Patrick Wilson (of all people) is almost too effective as a smarmy villain (you want to see far worse things happen to him than actually do).
This movie taught me quite a lot. Like, I didn't know you could steer a free-falling Army tank through the air by shooting its guns in the opposite direction of the one you want to go. I didn't even know a tank's guns would work while free-falling through the air. And I also didn't know you could duck and cover your way through a rain of railway cars falling off of a giant cargo ship if you were just agile enough. So maybe I should revise my initial opinion -- maybe I'm the dumb one, and this film is smart as a whip. Grade: A-