The A-Team

The A-Team is fun. The A-Team is funny. The A-Team is certainly not smart, but it knows that very well, and it doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. When I saw it in the movie theater, I was bothered by the slightly complicated plot and the hasty editing, which made several scenes a mess. But after watching the (extended) DVD version, all the criticisms are gone and I give this more than two-hour, but incredibly fast-paced blockbuster a fifth star. Great! The action scenes are beautifully over-the-top and a joy to watch, whether it's the famous falling tank from the trailer, the opening helicopter chase, the team's liberation from prison, the action in Frankfurt, the finale on the docks, and so on... The actors are precisely chosen and everyone enjoys their part (Neeson's line "So, Satan walks into this bar..." could become iconic). Silvestri's soundtrack (his most original thing since Van Helsing) deserves a mention.__ P.S. A 3D film in a German hospital... That scene is unprecedented. (06/18/2010)

I’m giving the fifth star because I blissfully roared with laughter the whole movie. A superb cast, top-notch action and mainly hundreds of cool lines backfilling the viewer with the cadence of a machine gun throughout the whole movie. Liam Neeson gained my definite status of total boss who is obviously enjoying the role of Hannibal like nothing he’s played in a long time. Sharlto Copley’s Murdock is the glue of the whole gang and his escapades made me smile with amazing regularity. Rampage is a worthy replacement for Mr. T and Cooper is fine too. Patrick Wilson is a pleasant surprise and Jessica Biel didn’t represent a disturbing element as some seem to be implying, I would even say that this was one of her best ever performances and she looks pretty damn good too. And the cameos are just delightful, even Jon Hamm’s. ;) There's a plan in everything, kid and I love it when a plan comes together. (06/22/2010)

An awful B-movie. Awful garbage. And awfully entertaining. Not on the action side, though; there’s very little of that and what there is terribly confused due to deranged editing, but after the ungainly introduction as soon as it establishes itself as a buddy comedy full of over the top scenes in “best 3D effect ever" style, then... Then you can either angrily get up from your seat and go home muttering about dumb Hollywood, or you can remain seated and abandon yourself to harmless, mindless fun. And at least it’s meant to be fun; I must admit that I expected something more like “it’s so bad, it’s genius". (06/10/2010)

To my great surprise, this is a good and hugely entertaining action ride. The trailers where underwhelming, but these four cool guys ended up winning me over. The action scenes are so over the top that it’s impossible not to smile. The climax on the other hand, maybe is a bit too over the top, there were moments when I didn’t know what was going on and why, so the impression went a bit down, but I still think it’s an 80% film. (07/18/2010)

It's very action-packed, occasionally funny, but mostly sterile and not very entertaining. Liam Neeson tries his best and some moves remind us of his famous Taken, but unfortunately, this is somewhat different. If A-Team is supposed to be a parody of big-budget action movies, then okay, it's survivable. Some action scenes are picture-perfect, but the film lacks better and more grandiose directing for a blockbuster. And maybe better actors too. Besides the famous Brit and Jessica Biel, nobody really impressed me. (10/17/2010)