Grade 'A' Summer Action

'The A-Team'

Review: 4/5

Director Joe Carnahan isn't one for idiosyncratic, quiet moments of human drama. He doesn't purport to study or understand the psychology of a team of wrongly accused war veterans, but instead prefers to focus on their unusual, often times flippant camaraderie, generated out of a devotion to fanatic, impractical military undertakings. That these tasks are highly implausible in reality is of unjust critique. Take note of Captain Hannibal's advice: "Sometimes overkill is underrated." - Carnahan's 'A-Team' adheres to a frenzied, mad-dash day-to-day, and he's fully aware, pushing the 'ridiculous' factor to a frenetic maximum.

The players in this gleefully unhinged, sky-high pageant of merry destruction give the film a stable foundation for the plot's dismissive flaws. Bradley Cooper as the charismatic 'Face' brings charm and humor to each absurd situation the team finds themselves in, and Sharlto Copley (the manic 'Wikus' from Neill Blomkamp's 'District 9') as the literally insane, helicopter flying 'Murdock' are the film's standouts; though Liam Neeson's 'Hannibal' does share a striking demeanor with his own 'Bryan Mills' character from the adrenaline-fueled 'Taken.'

All together, between Neeson's firm and calculating nature, Copley's hyper-inane antics, and Carnahan's assured direction, 'The A-Team' is definitely grade-A.