I already had a bad feeling when reading the word "remake", yet was somewhat calmed by the cast. I consider Liam Neeson a good actor, and Bradley Cooper seemed to be the perfect choice to play Face. And last but not least, I've got a thing for Jessica Biel.
The basic storyline is more or less consistent with the TV show: We witness the original framing of the A-Team and the four's struggle to wash their names clean. But from here, things went south. Hannibal's plans, after all a key element, are laughable throughout, yet lack any imagination (SPOILER: Face sticks himself to a lorry with a huge magnet, B.A. blows one of the escort vehicle up with his motorbike, Hannibal joints them via a steel cable). I am not asking for realism in an A-Team flick, but I am asking for creativity. This film delivers none of them. Don't get me wrong: There are some hilarious ideas, like (SPOILER) Face remodelling his prison cell or (to a lesser degree) the flying tank scene. But that is not enough to carry the film for two hours.
We get the stereotypical Hollywood blend: Ms Biel as Colonel Decker substitute is not "really" evil and was of course one of Face's former love interests. The presentation of foreign countries is, euphemistically spoken, quirky. Showing an aerial view of Cologne Cathedral and stating the city around it to be Frankfurt am Main is like placing the Statue of Liberty in the L.A. docks. Said cathedral is the landmark of Cologne, world cultural heritage and the largest Gothic church in the world. How can anybody screw that up?! (SPOILER) Then there is the irritating thing with the stolen Hercules plane, the two drones and -- later -- the gunship attacking the hideout. We saw how quickly the Mexican general was shot down when entering US air space at the beginning. But a huge cargo plane with no clearance to start and with two Reapers at its tail can fly over the densely populated area around Mannheim without being bothered by the Luftwaffe? The sky would be filled with German planes within minutes like they were re-enacting the Battle of Britain! Oh, and the drones can't be called back by the control centre -- I see. There are other details, for example some confusions about the German federal police and so one -- just look them up in the Goofs section.
During the showdown the film fully turns into a mindless mess. (SPOILER) Hit by a rocket, a huge container ship gets list within seconds and explodes all over the place, remote-controlled BMW come out of containers, then some more explosions. Finally a twist that isn't one. Good work.
So, is there anything positive about this flick? Not much, I fear. As said, it has its moments, it has a cameo of the original Face. Murdock's antics and the comments of Sosa's two sidekicks are fairly entertaining. And we learn that you cannot stop a starting Hercules with a car, but trying so in a Mercedes G-Class will let you survive it at least.
4/10, and I'm being generous here.
The basic storyline is more or less consistent with the TV show: We witness the original framing of the A-Team and the four's struggle to wash their names clean. But from here, things went south. Hannibal's plans, after all a key element, are laughable throughout, yet lack any imagination (SPOILER: Face sticks himself to a lorry with a huge magnet, B.A. blows one of the escort vehicle up with his motorbike, Hannibal joints them via a steel cable). I am not asking for realism in an A-Team flick, but I am asking for creativity. This film delivers none of them. Don't get me wrong: There are some hilarious ideas, like (SPOILER) Face remodelling his prison cell or (to a lesser degree) the flying tank scene. But that is not enough to carry the film for two hours.
We get the stereotypical Hollywood blend: Ms Biel as Colonel Decker substitute is not "really" evil and was of course one of Face's former love interests. The presentation of foreign countries is, euphemistically spoken, quirky. Showing an aerial view of Cologne Cathedral and stating the city around it to be Frankfurt am Main is like placing the Statue of Liberty in the L.A. docks. Said cathedral is the landmark of Cologne, world cultural heritage and the largest Gothic church in the world. How can anybody screw that up?! (SPOILER) Then there is the irritating thing with the stolen Hercules plane, the two drones and -- later -- the gunship attacking the hideout. We saw how quickly the Mexican general was shot down when entering US air space at the beginning. But a huge cargo plane with no clearance to start and with two Reapers at its tail can fly over the densely populated area around Mannheim without being bothered by the Luftwaffe? The sky would be filled with German planes within minutes like they were re-enacting the Battle of Britain! Oh, and the drones can't be called back by the control centre -- I see. There are other details, for example some confusions about the German federal police and so one -- just look them up in the Goofs section.
During the showdown the film fully turns into a mindless mess. (SPOILER) Hit by a rocket, a huge container ship gets list within seconds and explodes all over the place, remote-controlled BMW come out of containers, then some more explosions. Finally a twist that isn't one. Good work.
So, is there anything positive about this flick? Not much, I fear. As said, it has its moments, it has a cameo of the original Face. Murdock's antics and the comments of Sosa's two sidekicks are fairly entertaining. And we learn that you cannot stop a starting Hercules with a car, but trying so in a Mercedes G-Class will let you survive it at least.
4/10, and I'm being generous here.