The A-Team / Rated PG-13 for on-going scenes of violence, smoking and bad language. After weeks of bad movies The A-Team was an A plus surprise. Finally a guy flick for guys with both brains and brawn. Just like me. My editor has pointed out that nerdy and chunky would be a little better description. TAT is great summer fun. Based on the TV show, which ran from 1/83 to 12/86 with one additional episode broadcast 3/87; the movie has surpassed the series in excitement. This is an assumption, as I don’t remember ever watching the series. TAT is a group of ex-Army Rangers who do covert missions needing smarts and violence to accomplish. Liam Neeson plays the leader taking up the TV role of George Peppard. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, a UFC fighter has picked up the role made famous by Mr. T. Mr. T became better known when he took on Rocky in Rocky 3. Or was it 4 or 5? TAT, the movie is a real thrill ride. While there is a story line, the movie relies on high speed beautifully staged action sequences to make its point. Its point is to show what a real macho film is all about. Nobody writes any weepy Letters to Juliet in this one. The bad guys are superbly evil and very capable. Jessica Biel plays the female tough guy trying to figure out what is going on. The film visits locations all over the world. They saved time and money by just shooting in Canada. Vet composer Alan Silvestri (Contact, Roger Rabbit and RR II now in the works and 100 plus other scores) cleverly adapts Mike Posts well-known A-Team TV series theme and extends it to meet his own visions. The script is crisp and funny. The story moves with a lightning like pace. Only one cheap movie trick, which is about as hard to see as a big ugly yellow bug on the windshield of your car, is the only drawback in the action packed story line. Don’t wait for the DVD. Check this one out in the theater. On second thought a BluRay disk of TAT and a couple of beers will go together like Mike Hammer and a .45. The A Team is definitely not a B movie. Rated 3.5 out of 4.0 reasons I pity the fool who misses this one.
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