Reviewed by Johnny McNair

Fox Home Entertainment – 117 minutes – 2010 – Rated PG-13/Unrated – 1080p Widescreen 2.35:1 – DTS Lossless 5.1 Audio Mix – Digital Copy

Back in the mid-80’s NBC had a hit show that starred a big black guy with a Mohawk and the lovable actor from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and it was a mega hit. Who would have thought we’d still be talking about that show today, let alone it being turned into a big budget Hollywood summer flick. That show (and now movie) is The A-Team. If you love seeing things constantly blow up, The A-Team comes to Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox, so check your brain at the door, press play and enjoy the show.

THE MOVIE

Created by Steven J. Cannell, one of the kings of 80’s TV, The A-Team had a great Reagan-era premise, which the movie tries to replicate with some updates to make it more contemporary. Four military macho men, Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith (Liam Neeson), B. A. “Bad Attitude” Baracus (Quenton Jackson), Lt. Templeton “Faceman” Peck (Bradley Cooper), and Captain H.M. Murdock (Sharlto Copley), join forces to make the ultimate pack and become the A-Team. These guys take on the most dangerous jobs journeying around the globe wherever there’s trouble that may potentially threaten American lives.

Hannibal gets his team involved in a top-secret assignment to recover one billion dollars in counterfeit funds and the plates that created it from an Iraqi stronghold. But things go sour when the team is double-crossed buy a dirty CIA officer and pinned as criminals against their country. They are each sent to prison and Hannibal sets a plan in motion to break his team out of the slammer and clear their names in the only way The A-Team can…with plenty of explosions.

Just like the TV show, no one involved in this movie is trying to win any awards for best story, acting, or anything else. The idea was to do what Mission: Impossible accomplished and turn a classic TV hit into a successful motion picture franchise. To take on this task director Joe Carnahan, (who is a solid filmmaker) makes one big mistake, he trades his own style and turns himself into Michael Bay. The A-Team was a silly show, we all know that, but you kind of hope that this concept could have been expanded upon, so that you keep the elements that made the show popular, but at the same time take things one step higher to make it feel like a new experience.

The casting of the film is actually quite good, particularly for the prime roles. Liam Neeson does his best to pay homage to George Peppard, while adding his own touch. Bradley Cooper looks like he’s having fun in his first big action movie, even taking off his shirt to show that he had a personal trainer for the film. Sharlto Copley, who is straight from the success of the best sci-fi film in the last decade, District 9, nails the part of Howling Mad Murdock, making you forget whom the original guy was. The hardest shoes (or rather combat boots) to fill was the part of B.A Baracus, because MR. T is B.A. and you can’t see anyone else playing the role. Quenton Jackson may be the man as a UFC star, but he lacks the presence that MR. T had. Supporting roles such as Jessica Biel and Gerald McRaney are cut and paste, but Brian Bloom does stand out as the cocky bad guy.

Yes, an action film has a license to exaggerate scenarios to make them more spectacular, but this movie has action sequences so over the top that you may laugh. The A-Team rides a tank out of an airplane and gets into and air battle, then when you think that’s gone far enough, they fire the tanks cannon turret and use the blast impact as a means sailing it to a safe landing. The film’s finale becomes so insane that you literally believe that Carnahan has become possessed by Bay. In the 80’s and maybe 90’s this type of action would have been cheered, but today’s audiences are much more savvy, and judging by the poor box office results, were just turned off.

VIDEO

Exploding with a full 1080p image and cased in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, The A-Team’s image will blow you away. Colors are very strong, and even in sequences that occur in the desert, bright colors pop throughout the brown sand. Night sequences have surprisingly little grain; and particularly in the final battle where explosions are occurring non-stop, each bright blasts splatters the screen with a perfect coat of red, orange and yellow. Their should be a label on the box that requires you to have a 50inch TV are higher because even though this is film is not on the level of Raging Bull, it is big and loud.

AUDIO

Speaking of loud, this Blu-ray offers a killer Dolby Digital DTS-HD 5.1 sound mix that will shake your living room. Dialogue is well balanced and clear, but you’re not watching this film for memorable quotations, it’s for the sound effects. This film has it all, explosions, bullets galore, screeching vehicles, soaring jets, crashing glass, and yes…even more explosions. If you don’t have a home theater sound system you will be missing out on the highlight of the film, because this one is definitely showroom material demonstrate why the sound on a Blu-ray surpasses a DVD.

EXTRAS

The best thing about this Blu-ray is that you get a grand package for your loot. Not only do you get the theatrical PG-13 version of the film, but also the unrated extended cut with even more boom, and a Digital Copy. All supplemental features are presented in HD, which seals the deal.

‘The Devil’s in Detail: Inside the Action with Joe Carnahan’ is a picture-in-picture track that plays for various scenes of the movie, allowing the director to discuss the process of  making the movie.

‘Character Chronicles’ runs about twenty-five minutes and is divided in segments allowing each of the actors to talk about their character.

‘Plan of Attack’ is a half hour feature that discusses the conception of the movie using the blueprint from the original TV show. The piece goes into how the premise was updated for today’s audience and Carnahan’s vision.

‘Visual Effects Before and After’ is a quick behind the scenes look at the outrageous FX in the movie, such as the sky tank sequence.

There are six deleted scenes, some of which don’t even include the full effects shots, but it’s obvious why most of the scenes were dropped on the cutting room floor.

And of course no bonus features would be complete without a Gag Reel to show how much fun it is to make a movie.

For those who love to see things blow up on the go a Digital Copy of the film is also included.

BOTTOM LINE

Was there any real demand to make an A-Team movie? No. But that’s never stopped Hollywood before. The A-Team as a film is mediocre at best, but as a Blu-ray it’s excellent, offering nearly perfect picture and sound quality, and a solid package of bonus materials. If you’re a fan of the TV show and movie than you will appreciate all this more, because Fox makes this a better home theater viewing experience than actually going to a real theater to see it. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and you can find them, maybe you can hire The A-Team.

SCORES (Out of 5):

The Movie: 2.5

Video: 4.5

Sound: 5.0

Extras: 4.0

Bottom Line: 4.0