Peppard ‘might’ be stirring in his grave.
THE PLOT
This movie gives us the origins of our familiar 80’s heroes; Hannibal, Murdoch, Faceman and B.A. A 4-man Alpha Team (or A-Team) of US Rangers are framed for a crime they didn’t commit; the theft of a complete set of US bank note print plates resulting in the death of their commanding officer. Six months into their 10-year sentence they escape in order to clear their names. Inevitably, their escape means they are pursued by the Military Police and some other, more clandestine, characters resulting in the chase scenes, shootouts and the kind of explosions that are so massive they must have been done in CG.
THE REVIEW
As I sat down in the flippy-uppy cinema seat my thinking was ‘how disappointing will this really be?’ Probably not the most open minded approach but I was watching this out curiosity and to escape further housework!
I should also point out that I’ve never been a big fan of Liam Neeson. And once again this was a film starring Liam Neeson as Liam Neeson, in a Liam Neeson role! Ok, so George Peppard is a tough act to follow, but Neeson seemed unable to either capture his essence or stamp is own presence on the part.
Sharlto Copley’s Murdoch was criminally underused, despite his accent dropping in and out. Bradley Cooper almost managed to bring Faceman to life, but for better or worse didn’t quite pull off the smarmy aspect of the Templeton Peck character. As for B.A., who else could pull it off like Mr T? Not Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson that’s for sure, not really, although he is likeable enough.
There were also the inevitable references and homage’s to the 1980’s TV hit, including the obligatory adlib and elaborate escape plan, this time using fireworks and an up-scaled ball and cups trick!
The black-ops bad guy was stereotypical of countless TV and Film bad guys, even without much screen time. In addition, the guy-behind-the-(bad)-guy is obvious from the start.
Whilst mostly entertaining, the action sequences being a logical progression of the mid-80’s ‘everything that can blow up must blow up’ school of cinema, the film is not blockbuster material. Whilst the ending clearly opens a sequel possible, let’s hope producers Ridley and Tony Scott restrain themselves.
** SPOILER ALERT **
If you are going to spend money seeing this film then you might as well sit to the end of the credits for cameos from Dwight Shultz and Dirk Benedict, the original 80’s Murdoch and Face.
THE VERDICT
Not a great watch, but if you do see it you won’t feel like you’ve been robbed of your cash. Not quite. If you can wait for it on satellite or cable then you won’t really be missing anything, and the popcorn will be cheaper!
TC
This movie gives us the origins of our familiar 80’s heroes; Hannibal, Murdoch, Faceman and B.A. A 4-man Alpha Team (or A-Team) of US Rangers are framed for a crime they didn’t commit; the theft of a complete set of US bank note print plates resulting in the death of their commanding officer. Six months into their 10-year sentence they escape in order to clear their names. Inevitably, their escape means they are pursued by the Military Police and some other, more clandestine, characters resulting in the chase scenes, shootouts and the kind of explosions that are so massive they must have been done in CG.
THE REVIEW
As I sat down in the flippy-uppy cinema seat my thinking was ‘how disappointing will this really be?’ Probably not the most open minded approach but I was watching this out curiosity and to escape further housework!
I should also point out that I’ve never been a big fan of Liam Neeson. And once again this was a film starring Liam Neeson as Liam Neeson, in a Liam Neeson role! Ok, so George Peppard is a tough act to follow, but Neeson seemed unable to either capture his essence or stamp is own presence on the part.
Sharlto Copley’s Murdoch was criminally underused, despite his accent dropping in and out. Bradley Cooper almost managed to bring Faceman to life, but for better or worse didn’t quite pull off the smarmy aspect of the Templeton Peck character. As for B.A., who else could pull it off like Mr T? Not Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson that’s for sure, not really, although he is likeable enough.
There were also the inevitable references and homage’s to the 1980’s TV hit, including the obligatory adlib and elaborate escape plan, this time using fireworks and an up-scaled ball and cups trick!
The black-ops bad guy was stereotypical of countless TV and Film bad guys, even without much screen time. In addition, the guy-behind-the-(bad)-guy is obvious from the start.
Whilst mostly entertaining, the action sequences being a logical progression of the mid-80’s ‘everything that can blow up must blow up’ school of cinema, the film is not blockbuster material. Whilst the ending clearly opens a sequel possible, let’s hope producers Ridley and Tony Scott restrain themselves.
** SPOILER ALERT **
If you are going to spend money seeing this film then you might as well sit to the end of the credits for cameos from Dwight Shultz and Dirk Benedict, the original 80’s Murdoch and Face.
THE VERDICT
Not a great watch, but if you do see it you won’t feel like you’ve been robbed of your cash. Not quite. If you can wait for it on satellite or cable then you won’t really be missing anything, and the popcorn will be cheaper!
TC
Release Date: 30 July 2010
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