The A-Team

Based on the beloved 1980s television series created by Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell, The A-Team (2010) arrives on the big screen with all guns blazing—quite literally. A long-gestating project, the film had been in development since the mid-1990s, passing through countless hands before landing in the lap of Joe Carnahan, who co-wrote the screenplay alongside Brian Bloom and Skip Woods. What eventually emerged is a high-octane action romp, bursting with explosions, fast cuts and a surprisingly decent ensemble cast—yet ultimately let down by a muddled script and a loss of the show’s original charm.

Starring Liam Neeson as Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith, Bradley Cooper as the smooth-talking Templeton "Face" Peck, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson stepping into the formidable boots of B.A. Baracus, and Sharlto Copley delivering a manic turn as H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock, the cast is easily the film’s strongest asset. Jessica Biel and Patrick Wilson round out the main ensemble, with Biel playing Face’s former flame and military investigator, and Wilson as the shady CIA operative Lynch.

The plot mirrors the television show’s classic premise: a group of elite ex-Special Forces soldiers are framed for a crime they didn’t commit and must go rogue to clear their names. From a prison break in Germany to a frenetic heist in Baghdad, and eventually a ludicrous shipping container showdown in Los Angeles harbour, the film barrels through its set pieces with relentless energy. The action sequences are ambitious—sometimes impressively so—and undoubtedly made with a keen eye for spectacle.

However, that same appetite for bombast is also the film’s Achilles’ heel. Carnahan trades the playful, tongue-in-cheek heroics of the original series for a darker, more convoluted plot that piles on double-crosses and CIA conspiracies with reckless abandon. The result is a story that feels overly complicated for what should be simple popcorn entertainment. Even Liam Neeson admitted later he struggled to follow the narrative—and he was in it.

Critics were split. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film sits at a lukewarm 48% approval rating. While some praised the charisma of the cast and the sheer adrenaline of the action, others found it incoherent and overcooked. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly called it "trash so compacted it glows," while Rolling Stone's Peter Travers offered a backhanded compliment, saying it's "big, loud, ludicrous," but somehow still enjoyable if you can switch off your brain.

Notably, the film's reception by alumni of the original series was tepid at best. Dirk Benedict lamented his blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo, while Mr. T declined to appear altogether. Dwight Schultz, the original Murdock, praised the cast but criticised the film for abandoning the show's core premise—where the team used their skills to help the helpless, not chase after CIA plots and counterfeit plates.

Despite early buzz and the promise of a franchise, The A-Team underperformed at the global box office, pulling in $177 million against a hefty $110 million budget. Any plans for a sequel were quickly shelved.

Verdict:
Fans of the show may find the film’s glossy cynicism a far cry from the warm, slightly goofy charm of the 1980s classic. It’s passable action fare, but not quite the "plan coming together" one might have hoped for.

★★☆☆☆ – Entertaining in bursts but ultimately overcomplicated and underwhelming.