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redfiona99The Case For The Prosecution:
The problem with the A-Team film is that it tries to be too many things all at once.
Admittedly the series only had 1 TV hour (so ~ 42 actual minutes) to play with, while the film has 117 minutes, but the series knew that you can focus on one thing at once. If it was a Hannibal episode, Hannibal got most of the scenes while Face, Murdoch and BA went and did their thing. The same, with the names moved round, for the other characters.
The film, meanwhile, tries to shoehorn in:
1) Hannibal's crisis of confidence after the team are betrayed.
2) Face learning to believe himself and his ability to plan.
3) BA trying to find a balance between necessary violence and his own peace of mind.
One, or maybe two, of those would have made a good solid film. With all three of them in the film, none of those storylines has the chance to breathe and fulfill their potential. It also leaves Murdoch with nothing to do.
I also don't like how the do BA Baracus.
In the show, Face is the one with criminal tendencies. If anyone was going to have been dishonourably discharged, it would have been him not BA. BA is, and I suspect quite deliberately, a riposte to the idea that a big, black angry man must be a thug. Because the whole thing with BA is that he is the loveliest and cuddliest of the A-Team, it's just hidden by the fact that he looks terrifying. Looks, they are deceiving and so on. It feels retrograde to make BA the thug just because they've got Rampage Jackson to play him.
That last point brings me to my last objection. Face is supposed to be the pretty boy. Rampage Jackson is significantly prettier to mine eyes than Bradley Cooper. I have been assured, repeatedly, by several people that I am the only one with this problem.
The Scene Itself:
Why the scene is so good:
If the phrase, "the A-Team fly a tank" does nothing for you, the scene will do nothing for you. If, on the other hand, your reaction is "OMG, I've got to see this", it is done and done well.
It is ridiculous done well, and the characters actually acknowledge the ridiculousness of the situation they are in.
I particularly like Lt. Sosa's eyerolling reaction, because, of course they're going to try to fly a tank. I also have a love for the little old German lady laughing at the end because yes, that is a spectacular karma for dynamiting fish.
(The only scene that really comes close to being as good is the scene with Pike and Lynch in the car. Part of the problem with the film is that Pike is the most fun character.)
The problem with the A-Team film is that it tries to be too many things all at once.
Admittedly the series only had 1 TV hour (so ~ 42 actual minutes) to play with, while the film has 117 minutes, but the series knew that you can focus on one thing at once. If it was a Hannibal episode, Hannibal got most of the scenes while Face, Murdoch and BA went and did their thing. The same, with the names moved round, for the other characters.
The film, meanwhile, tries to shoehorn in:
1) Hannibal's crisis of confidence after the team are betrayed.
2) Face learning to believe himself and his ability to plan.
3) BA trying to find a balance between necessary violence and his own peace of mind.
One, or maybe two, of those would have made a good solid film. With all three of them in the film, none of those storylines has the chance to breathe and fulfill their potential. It also leaves Murdoch with nothing to do.
I also don't like how the do BA Baracus.
In the show, Face is the one with criminal tendencies. If anyone was going to have been dishonourably discharged, it would have been him not BA. BA is, and I suspect quite deliberately, a riposte to the idea that a big, black angry man must be a thug. Because the whole thing with BA is that he is the loveliest and cuddliest of the A-Team, it's just hidden by the fact that he looks terrifying. Looks, they are deceiving and so on. It feels retrograde to make BA the thug just because they've got Rampage Jackson to play him.
That last point brings me to my last objection. Face is supposed to be the pretty boy. Rampage Jackson is significantly prettier to mine eyes than Bradley Cooper. I have been assured, repeatedly, by several people that I am the only one with this problem.
The Scene Itself:
Why the scene is so good:
If the phrase, "the A-Team fly a tank" does nothing for you, the scene will do nothing for you. If, on the other hand, your reaction is "OMG, I've got to see this", it is done and done well.
It is ridiculous done well, and the characters actually acknowledge the ridiculousness of the situation they are in.
I particularly like Lt. Sosa's eyerolling reaction, because, of course they're going to try to fly a tank. I also have a love for the little old German lady laughing at the end because yes, that is a spectacular karma for dynamiting fish.
(The only scene that really comes close to being as good is the scene with Pike and Lynch in the car. Part of the problem with the film is that Pike is the most fun character.)
