THE A-TEAM Post Release Thread - Page 4

That bit was the sort of thing where, if I were 10 and had the action figures, I would have gone home immediately after the movie and re-enacted that scene. They got away with putting something so blatantly absurd into the movie and not having it come off as just stupid.

Joe Carnahan knew at every step of the way, hell they all knew, exactly what movie he was making. This never tries to be something else. I read somewhere that the producers were saying this was "the Die Hard/Bourne Identity/Casino Royale version of The A-Team" - I call bullshit on that one. After seeing the movie, I can assure you this is The A-Team through and through.

The action scenes were poorly shot and hard to follow, but I suppose that's par for the course these days. Patrick Wilson was an absolute delight (that scene between Lynch and Pike in the car was great) and I loved Bradley Cooper. In The Hangover he came across as a smug asshole, but here he was smug and charming.

I think my least favorite moment was when Hannibal told BA that Ghandi would have wanted him to kill a guy who crossed him. I don't get the joke.

Some may have thought it was a fun joke. But I just found it to be an oddly half-assed way to give the movie the illusion of a character arc. Maybe if I wasn't so distracted by the LEGO Jenga sequence, I might've found his 'glorious return to violence' satisfying.

Seeing/reading interviews with Carnahan, he does seem like the type of guy who would put such a scene in the movie as a big joke, or one who actually meant it.

I do like how he shot the Jon Hamm cameo as if Jon Hamm were Tom Hanks or something. Probably banking on the fact that Jon Hamm's star is rising and that scene will make more sense in future viewings.

Aside from B.A.'s little fight at the beginning, what was hard to follow?

The Bahgdad mission was dark and shaky cam, and most of the climax was dark and shaky cam.

Once this subplot kicked in, all I could think of was Miguel Ferrer's character in Hot Shots! Part Deux: "Thank you, Topper! I can kill again! You've given me a reason to live."

I'll give you dark, but I don't remember any shaky cam. People on the internet complain about SHAKY CAM ruining action scenes all the time, but I barely see it in movies. Usually the problem is the action was shot too close and there are too many quick cuts.

There might have been a few too many quick cuts during the Baghdad mission, but I was able to follow it just fine. The climax's problem is that the plan is overly complicated and doesn't make much sense.

It's shot too close and the camera is handheld = shakycam.

I thought Shaky Cam was a handheld shot where the camera actually, you know, shakes and makes you dizzy. Like what Greengrass does.

Never saw the Bourne movies, so my ax isn't quite sharp enough to split these hairs, but having just watched The General and Die Hard in a single night, I see no reason for these action movies to be shot the way they are.

I think it's meant to give you a visceral feeling of actually being there. In real life, when violence breaks out, you don't get to sit back like you're Kubrick behind the camera and watch it unfold. Things get chaotic and shaken up.

In a movie this silly, that's a poor choice. I understand the idea, intellectually, but it has always had an opposite effect on me, every time. One minute I'm worrying about characters and their problems, the next I'm worried that I won't understand a goddamned thing in the set piece.

Why is that tiny moment with the zig-zag table in Die Hard twice as thrilling as any set-piece in The A-Team? Because the way it's shot you instantly understand the geography of the scene, the danger, and you worry what he's going to do once he runs out of table. With shaky-cam there's no set-up, no pay-off, just a vigorous dry-hump.

Just my opinion, but there's a difference between hand-held camera giving the appearance of a documentary (Alfonso Cuaron) and a hand-held camera obscuring your understanding of a scene (A-Team).

Not that A-Team is that much more of an offender in this regard than something like The Dark Knight, I just think it's more out of place in a movie this committed to crazy ("Over the top is under-rated").

Having just watched Die Hard for the first time ever on the big screen on Monday night (holy shit what a revelation), I actually agree with Pat on this one. It was so fucking refreshing to see exactly what was happening in an action sequence. The whole 'being there' defence of shaky cam seems disingenuous to me because, well, we're not there are we. By that logic every movie should be shot from a first person camera angle. Watching Maclane vs Karl near the end of Die Hard was a visceral thrill because you could see who was where and what was happening.

I get why it's caught on as a film fad in the last decade and a select group of film-makers - well Paul Greengrass basically - can make it work effectively (Pat dear god man watch the Bourne Trilogy!), but as a rule it shits me.

The Bourne trilogy always looked very humorless and generic and never interested me. The fact that it's where it's the shaky cam business originated doesn't get me excited either.

If enough people can override these concerns, I'll give them a try, but it always seemed to fall under the category of "doesn't look bad, just not for me".

By that logic, those films actually are shot from a first-person angle. The camera is your POV.

I'm definitely not a fan of all the close shots and quick cutting in action scenes today. I'd much rather see i action filmed in a more traditional way. I just didn't think the action in A-TEAM was that hard to follow.

I'm with wadew1. I'm mainly anti-"shaky-cam" but I had no problem at all following the A-Team, other than the awful first sequence with B.A.

Maybe it's just because this is the first action movie I've seen in theaters since Star Trek.

Edit: Well, except Kick-Ass, but I don't recall that to have any shaky-cam.

I just saw...The A-Team a...3rd time, and it is just as...Awesome, as the first 2 times I saw it! I love it when a plan comes together!

I officially hate American filmgoers now. This was a ton of fun. Dammit, I want to see Jon Hamm chasing around these guys (and Biel) in a sequel.

Like everyone else, I had a blast. Perfect casting and fun action. I had no problem following it. I LOVED the tank scene. The whole cienma wooped when it first blasted sideways. They also found it hilarious – as I did – when the fisherman’s boat was capsized and his wife looked pleased as punch. I might be seeing this again in theatres, which is rare these days. At the end everyone clapped and cheered, which almost never happens in the UK.

I have no problem with shaky-cam action when it is done well. By good directors like Greengrass, Carnahan and Peter Berg.

Worldwide BO is $136 million as of the end of July, so it's not looking good, although it's only just opened in many countries. With this and KNIGHT & DAY it's not a great summer for the Fox marketing department. That's the only reason why this movie underperformed, as far as I can tell.

I think this film was undersold. It was painted as a slam-bam action film when it could have been sold as a buddy movie. The camaraderie of the A-team guys was a highlight for me.

Really looking forward to this on Blu-ray!
We just had it released here last Wednesday and i saw it at packed screening of 5 people! Well it was 10 in the morning.
Loved all of it. I was never a big fan of the show but knew the basics but I sat there with a huge grin through out. Everyone was great in it and agree with most about Wilson ("Broadsword, I like the sound of that!") and Brian Bloom. He had some good lines aswell but he did co-write this so you could give yourself some decent stuff.

I went along with the CG, I put CG into a few catagories and it fitted in box 2!
Pity it won't get a sequel because I could watch a few more of them.

Still loved a small voiceover that said 3-D sucks in the mental ward!

Totally agree, I do not get why this film did not do better. It's the TV show only with a bigger budget what more do you want?

According to Carnahan the DVD will be packed with extras and deleted scenes. I'm so looking forward to buying it.


The Karate Kid stole a lot of A-team audience the 1st week which is unfortunate. I think the premise of the A-team is such that a sequel could be made with an entirely different plot and re-sold to the public with better marketing. How could they squander a cast like Liam, Bradley and Sharlto all of whom seem game for a sequel? I would ditch Jessica Biel and go with someone who can match the acting chops of the boys.

Of course I'm a dreamer

Yeah, I really want to see this again and wish the DVD were out already. Ah well, the Blu-ray of this should be glorious.

This was surprisingly good fun. It's got a very clear idea of what it wants to be - the antidote to all the "harder", "darker" action flicks we've seen so much of recently - and pursues it with all the vigor its protagonists do their mission goals. With the exception of Jessica Boring, everyone put in great shifts. Loved the little Hamm flourish at the end and the TV title reprise.

I was a bit irked by some of the action in the Mexico opening sequence too, but the visibility definitely improved as the movie went on.

Precisely, Ken. The only thing I'd change, and it's just a minor gripe, would be swapping out Biel for Cameron Diaz or someone else vibrant and charismatic to (I was almost gonna say "face off" against, then caught myself on) banter with Cooper.

I realize that for the sake of the character, this simply wouldn't have worked, but in my head I just kept hearing Liam's lines as they probably would've came out, had his accent been embraced: "I'm your oldest living friend, so I am! There's no air support on this mission, so there isn't!" Timing is key, so it is!" Casting an Ulsterman as Hannibal was so perfect it's amazing.

Its really sad to me how this film performed here. I have to say its two things though first its the oddity of making an A-Team film at this time and the small following that show had as well as how Fox promoted it.

I have spoke to a lot of people how much I enjoyed it and they didn't get it. Many of the older people thought it was weird they made an A-Team film at all and thought it looked dumb not fun. I think thats crazy myself. Also A-Team as a show was huge in 1985.

As far as trailers, tv spots and other publicity I think Fox dropped the ball and didn't sell this the right way. There wasn't anything that jumped out about their ads.

Still I was sold with the first and second trailers myself. I like Neeson, Cooper and Copley and it looked like fun and so I went and saw a midnight screening day of (which I don't do often) I wasn't dissapointed and had more fun than just about any film barring Kickass or Inception this year.

Carnahan really did an amazing job. I think the film will clean up on home video and I will be buying the bluray first week. Hoping we get a sequel.

It's kind of depressing that we live in a world where fucktards like Michael Bay get the budgets and films they get to play with while action directors that are actually talented like Carnahan and Rob Marshall have their films under perform or just get buried completely.

Late-eighties John McTiernan would struggle for a hit if he'd started making movies these days. That makes me incredibly sad.

Rob Marshall?? Actually, you're right. There was far too much CGI and shakey cam in NINE.

God damn it - NEIL!


...why do I keep doing that????

We all have our opinions on Bay - but he started in the game in the early 90's w/ commercials and parlayed that w/ BAD BOYS by hooking up w/ Jerry Bruckheimer / Don Simpson. Very successful producers at the time w/ their movies and Bay followed up w/ THE ROCK. He essentially became a brand. Joe Carnahan and Neil Marshall have yet to hook up w/ producers that can greenlight a potential blockbuster and no offense to them, cos I like them, they're small-time players even though they are in league of the new breed action directors.

Saw the flick last night, and enjoyed it quite a bit. I think everyone's mostly agreed that the CGI-nonsense with the shipping container was the shit-point, but everything before that was tonnes of fun.

Loved Murdock's "Recently" and the scene in the back-seat of the car. Everyone except Biel were tremendously entertaining - though to be fair to her she had the most thankless role.

I've read a few of you guys mention Star Trek as a comparison, but I felt it's spiritual brethren was closer to GI JOE

I saw one of the A-team press conference videos and Carnahan mentioned that Sharlto's legendary Murdock audition tape will be included on the DVD features. Yet another reason to look forward to the DVD.

As has already been said, far better than it should have been. Certainly worked for me in a way Star Trek didn't.
There really is a derth of action films with any sense of fun to them nowadays. Aside from The Good, the Bad, the Weird, I can't remeber the last one I saw that had that kind of innocence to it.

Okay I have to be honest, The Expendables being such a success makes me even more baffled as to how this failed to connect with audiences.

The cast for THE A-TEAM didn't appeal to the core audience of throwback action movies while it did for THE EXPENDABLES?

neoolong, While I love the adaption of...The A-Team, Liam Neeson as Hannibal was note perfect. Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley, and Rampage Jackson were all good as well, but they might have been a weak leak, to the audience in general. The biggest difference between, The A-Team Series and Film, was that in the series, they rescued innocents from the...EEEEEEvil bad guys. In the film, they only rescued, themselves and Face's Gal Pals!

Has anyone seen anything regarding a timeframe for the DVD/BR?

I guess yeah. I'm still baffled tho neo - I'm wearing my baffled face.

Does anyone know if it did better overseas than in the states? Because everyone I know that saw it loved the hell out of it and it got some pretty good press in the UK.

Domestic Total as of Aug. 12, 2010: $76,646,977
Foreign Total as of Aug. 15, 2010: $82,000,000

Whether that's good idunno, but yeah, everyone I know who's seen it kinda loved it (third act Crysis tech demo notwithstanding)

Both this and Knight & Day already have cover art up at Amazon.com, but no dates listed. I'm guessing it should be announced pretty soon.

I like the K&D art (mostly because I liked the artsy poster), but the A-Team one is godawful. I hope it changes.

I'm crossing my fingers that the foreign+ domestic gross along with what are sure to be strong DVD sales will make a sequel happen. I would hate to see the great chemistry of this stellar cast squandered. If Fast & Furious can have 50 sequels the A-Team deserves at least one.

Amen to that.

Can't wait for the bluray.

This was a great time. Fun and funny, with performances pitched perfectly to the movie. I liked how the physics of the movie, while crazy, were in their own way internally consistent, in that none of what happened felt out of place in the movie. Yeah, the container bit is a misfire, but there's good stuff even in there, and the pacing carries it through the rough patches. The tank scene was defintiely a high point for me, which I didn't expect from the trailers. Carnahan sure knows how to keep his flicks relentless, huh?



Also, Patrick: watch the damn Bourne movies! Even if you don't like them I'd be interested to hear your take.

Erix was right on the money when he said this film was like the Star Trek (2009) of 2010. Silly plot held together by surprisingly great performances from a somewhat unlikely cast.

 

Patrick Wilson is a ton fun and the dude who plays Pike, Brian Bloom, is very fun to watch too. He isn't given as much space to move as Wilson but he still delivers a character who's more than just a cardboard cutout or cartoon.

 

As for the four main dudes I loved how well balanced the team was. I figured Neeson and Cooper might overpower the other two less experienced guys but Copley and Jackson were right on the money with their chemistry and delivery and screen presence. They're right at home on the big screen. If anything it was maybe Cooper who felt a little awkward at times in the suave Face role. He has a natural intensity to his kind of vulpine features that works against his attempts to play a real smoothy in a couple of scenes. But I didn't mid Biel as much as a lot of other peeps seemed to. She's playing a role that's not written especially well, but she does fine with it, and I particularly loved her sarcastic mocking of the grunts the A-Teamsters hire to pretend to be them.

 

Some of the action is messy but it mostly works fine and because of the performances and consistency of tone overall it's a win for Joe Carnahan and I wish they'd make a sequel.