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Is it self-fulfilling prophecy if we give The A-Team trailer an A?

The A-Team – Opens June 11th

Josh Spiegel: Again, here's something I'm not that familiar with, being too young to have watched the show when it was on, but this trailer looks like it's for an exciting enough movie. That said, the makeup that's meant to make Liam Neeson look as old as the character from the TV show just seems odd. Still, Sharlto Copley getting a role in a big movie is exciting. However...isn't this essentially the plot of The Losers? Or vice versa? Either way, I'm tentatively in for this one.

Michael Lynderey: Michael Lynderey: Oh yeah, it's The Losers all over again but not quite yet. Funny how The Losers was briefly moved up to one week before The A-Team, before scurrying back to April.

Really, this reminds me of G.I. Joe - it's not an outright huge property, but it has enough fans, and the cast doesn't push it over-the-top, but they're certainly good enough to make it a decent hit. It's tough to judge the quality of this (the trailer is decent), but I think the desired $100 million result will probably be in the bag here, especially considering how dead early June is.

David Mumpower: For the purpose of symmetry, Liam Neeson should have starred in a Breakfast at Tiffany's re-make first.





Brett Beach: Not that the world needs a faithful adaptation of The A-Team but I am impressed by how the trailer suggests the movie will perfectly capture the precise level of ridiculousness of the show - skirting just over into camp - and with full-on action set pieces like the show had, just exponentially bang-boom-pow-ier. It looks like the kind of action-packed yet goofy summer escapist fare that isn't done much anymore, or at least not done well.

Per David's comment , I concur. I see you a Breakfast at Tiffany's and raise you a Damnation Alley.

David Mumpower: Well played, Brett. As for the movie itself, one of the primary challenges in adapting a well established property is exploiting the most popular aspects of the original work without doing so in a gratuitous manner. Star Trek is the gold standard in this regard and will remain that way for years to come. What jumps out at me about The A-Team's trailer is that a deft touch is used for a couple of ideas that a less confident production would have left out altogether. "I pity the fool" is one of the all-time great catchphrases in the entertainment industry. Having that dialogue shown instead of spoken is a phenomenal diversion of expectation. Similarly, I love the whistling of the television show theme as a signal to one another about their status in an operation. It's much more subtle than banging the song over our heads like has been done (and done well...I'm not bagging on it) in Mission: Impossible. For a decade now, I've been cringing at the idea of an A-Team adaptation yet now that we are faced with one, I'm shocked to find myself saying I think Joe Carnahan has gotten this one right.

Max Braden: I like the casting a lot, but I think they went too on the nose with Murdock's character, especially in the narrated trailer. Neeson just doesn't have the charm to pantomime George Peppard. They could have gone with a more Taken vibe for him. I didn't watch the original S.W.A.T. series but I got the impression that the movie lived up to the spirit of the show without being too paint by numbers. The Jessica Biel trailer does promise a lot of chaotic fun, and I'd expect a lot of viewers to ask if this was directed by Michael Bay or McG. Basically it's the male version of Charlie's Angels. This should do very well.

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