Eye Candy #411 - "The A-Team"

The A-Team:  I admit, when I first heard about this film being made, I was more than a little hesitant.  I watched the show religiously as a child, had the toys, you name it.  I also have a growing malaise about recycling ideas from the 80’s (“G.I. Joe” and “Transformers” are other  examples).  But as the previews came out, I became more and more enthused.  Now I can say that this movie didn’t disappoint.  Sure, the kid-friendly “violence” of the original is gone (no cabbage cannons here and people do get shot), but the outrageous antics remain and the four main characters are rendered well with 21st century sensibilities.  Sure it’s loud, flashy, and shallow, but so was the TV show.  Hannibal Smith (Liam Neeson), Face (Bradley Cooper), B.A. (Rampage Jackson), and Howling Mad Murdock (Sharlto Copley) are an Army Ranger special operations group renowned for their unconventional methods and success rate.    When they are set up for a crime they didn’t commit (specifically, murder and theft), they pool their talents to exact revenge and turn the tables on those who set them up, including smarmy Generation X CIA agent Lynch (played with appropriate smarminess by Patrick  Wilson).   Directed by Joe Carnahan, this film sets a blistering pace from action set piece to action set piece, all of which are flashy enough to be interesting yet short enough not to bore the audience and wear out their welcome.  The script is surprisingly strong with several great lines and exchanges, and the right amount of humor to keep it punchy.  The cast is good (even Jackson) and Jessica Biel, in support as Lt. Charisa Sosa, has never been hotter.  Good stuff.  Woodchuck sez, “Me likey.”