THE world’s most wanted covert team from the 80’s phenomenal television series “The A-Team” reboots as an explosive action extravaganza onto the big screen starring Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Jessica Biel.
This time, the A-Team having hailed from the recent Iraq war become renegades headed by master tactician Col. Hannibal Smith (Neeson) along with Lt. Templeton ‘Faceman’ Peck (Bradley Cooper), Capt. ‘Howling Mad’ Murdock (Sharlto Copley) and Sgt. Bosco ‘B.A.’ Baracus (Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson) are being pursued by the government’s Lt. Sosa (Biel) for a crime framed by an unknown influential military personnel.
Joe Carnahan (“Narc,” “Smokin’ Aces”) directs from a screenplay by Skip Woods (“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”). In a recent interview with latimes.com, Carnahan explained that the “A-Team’ film is hardly a by-the-book big-screen rendering of the series. Where the original Alpha Unit was a squad of disgraced Vietnam war vets, the new team is made up of covert operatives who ran missions during the most recent Iraq war and get hung out to dry for crimes they didn’t commit. This adaptation is more in the spirit of Christopher Nolan’s ‘Batman’ update.”
Moreso, Carnahan shares that “While I like the TV show, I didn’t think it was any great shakes in terms of heavy drama. You could take that story and have it translate into the present day with more success. Like that of Sharlto Copley’s “Howlin’ Mad” Murdock character that had been similarly updated for modern audiences. If you tried to put that show out today, you wouldn’t get away with what they got away with before. I mean, Murdock for what passed as crazy 25 years ago doesn’t hold up nowadays. So you have to reevaluate things like ‘crazy.’”
“A-Team” will hit theaters June 11 (Friday) in the Phils. to be distributed by Warner Bros.