the a-team.

this movie is actually pretty bad ass.  i was preparing myself for it to suck but that last couple of trailers had me thinking it might be pretty good.  and i’m happy to say, it was pretty good.

lots of action, lots of witty dialog, likable characters and lots of action.  this is the first true summer blockbuster action movie.  at least that’s what it’s designed as.  and it delivers.

i have to say though that Liam Neeson was the worst actor in the movie.  i can’t believe i just wrote that, i love Liam Neeson.  i’m just not sure he was right for this part.  maybe he was trying to hard to be George Peppard.  but who knows, others might not even notice anything awry.  i’m a critic after all.

but i thought everyone else was spot on.  Bradley Cooper was perfect as faceman, Sharlto Copley was great as murdock, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson may have found his new calling.  that is if he tires of beating other guys to a pulp in the octagon.  the bad guy was really awesome too, Patrick Wilson.  if you’re like me you’ll be scratching your head the whole time trying to figure out where you’ve seen him before.  let me save you the trouble.  i looked him up on imdb.com.

he was night owl in watchmen.  he’s really good in this film.  as he was in that one too.  we might see this cat around some more.  and that’s a good thing.

oh, i almost forgot to mention Jessica Biel.  she’s pretty…and fits very well in this ensemble cast.

one guy i recognized but again didn’t know who he was is Gerald McRaney.  and when i saw his name he was even more familiar.  well, i imdb’ed him too.  he litters my favorite tv shows from the 80’s!  he is rick simon in simon and simon for crying out loud!  he was also seen in magnum pi, the incredible hulk, and even further back in shows i watched on re-runs like barnaby jones, chips, hawaii five-o and gunsmoke.  so it is very fitting that he is in this show that does an excellent job pay homage to 80’s action shows.

and it does pay homage to 80’s action tv shows.  there’s even a part where they show a clip from the old a-team television show.  they do the voice over and play the old theme song.  it’s truly an old school nerd’s delight.  because i’m an old school nerd and i was delighted.

there is almost too much action.  they do so much cool stuff leading up to the big finale that the tried to do too much at the end.  it’s like, wow, there’s a bunch of stuff blowing up but i can’t seem to follow anything…but wow, they are blowing a lot of stuff up!  and it’s like who cares?

it is set up for multiple sequels but somehow i don’t think there will be any.  i would be very interested in seeing a resurgence of the tv show, the a-team.

this film is rated pg-13 for violence and some language.  i don’t think they ever fully drop the ef bomb but it’s alluded to several times.  like someone is in the middle of saying it then something explodes.  kind of a tricky way to get away with using it more than once and still getting the pg-13 rating.  what concerns me more than that is an issue of morals they bring up.  i wasn’t thrilled with they way they treated it but that’s for you to decide.

over all this movie gets two big thumbs up from me.  a really good popcorn summer action flick.  the box office will decide if it’s a blockbuster or not.  it’s really fun.  go see it with the guys although the ladies may like it too.  Bradley Cooper does take his shirt off.