The A-Team (film)
The A-Team | |
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Directed by | Joe Carnahan |
Screenplay by |
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Based on | |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Mauro Fiore |
Edited by |
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Music by | Alan Silvestri |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 119 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $100–110 million[2][3] |
Box office | $177.2 million[3] |
The A-Team is a 2010 American
The film had been in development since the mid-1990s having gone through a number of writers and story ideas and being put on hold a number of times. Neeson, Cooper, and the rest of the cast joined in summer 2009, and filming took place around Canada later that year. The film was theatrically released on June 11, 2010, by
Plot
Eight years later in
Without Morrison, the only proof that they were authorized to act, Hannibal, Face, Murdock, and B.A. are
Six months later, Lynch visits Hannibal in prison and tells him that Pike may be trying to sell the plates with the help of an Arab backer. Hannibal, who has been tracking Pike on his own, makes a deal with Lynch: full reinstatement and clean records for his team in return for the plates. Lynch agrees and Hannibal escapes, breaking out Face, B.A., and Murdock in the process. The team hijacks a
The team moves to reclaim the plates and kidnaps Pike's backer. It is revealed that the backer is actually General Morrison in disguise, who plotted with Lynch and Pike to steal the plates but teamed up with Pike to double-cross Lynch and fake his death. Meanwhile, Lynch orders an airstrike to kill the team and Morrison, but the team manages to escape while Morrison is killed in the explosion.
Hannibal arranges to meet Sosa on board a container ship at the Port of Los Angeles, claiming he will hand over "Morrison" and the plates. Face then calls Sosa and conspires on a different plan with her knowing Lynch was probably eavesdropping on the call. It all unfolds according to plan until Pike, now working with Lynch, blows up the container ship with a rocket launcher and chases Face in an ensuing gunfight. B.A., who became a pacifist during his prison time, eventually confronts Pike before killing him and saving Face's life. Hannibal leads Lynch into a container with Murdock, who, wearing a covered, bullet-proof helmet filled with ketchup, is portraying Morrison with the help of recordings of Morrison before his death. Lynch shoots at Murdock's head, and believing that he has killed Morrison, is later tricked into admitting that he stole the plates and is subsequently caught and arrested by Sosa for his crimes.
CIA agents led by a separate "Lynch" come and claim custody of the original one. Despite their success and proving themselves innocent, the military still arrests the team for escaping from federal prison, which is a criminal offense. Sosa is reinstated to captain, but she promises to do all she can to set the team free and kisses Face as everybody is led into a prison van. In the van, Face opens his mouth, revealing a handcuff key given to him by Sosa through the kiss.
Cast
- Liam Neeson as John "Hannibal" Smith
- Bradley Cooper as Templeton "Face" Peck
- Jessica Biel as Charissa Sosa [8]
- Bosco "B.A." Baracus
- Sharlto Copley as H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdock
- Patrick Wilson as Vance Burress / Agent Lynch[9]
- Jon Hamm as Other Lynch (uncredited)
- Brian Bloom as Brock Pike. Bloom was also a writer on the film.[10]
- Gerald McRaney as General Russell Morrison
- Terry Chen as Ravech
- Maury Sterling as Gammons
- Henry Czerny as Director McCready
- C. Ernst Harth as Crematorium Attendant
- Omari Hardwick as Chop Shop Jay
- Corey Burton as Narrator
In a post credits scene, original series actors Dirk Benedict (Face) and Dwight Schultz (Murdock) have cameos with their film equivalents Bradley Cooper and Sharlto Copley. Benedict plays Face's fellow tanning bed client, credited as "Pensacola Prisoner Milt", and Schultz plays the German neurologist who examines Murdock.
Production
Locations and filming
The entire film was shot at various locations in
Development
The film had been in development since the mid-1990s, going through a number of writers and story ideas, and being put on hold a number of times. Producer Stephen J. Cannell hoped to update the setting, perhaps using the Gulf War as part of the backstory.[16][17] John Singleton was initially assigned to direct,[18] but in October 2008 he pulled out of the project.[19] When Singleton was still attached to the project as director, Ice Cube was approached for the role of B.A. Baracus.[20]
Initially greenlit on a production budget of $80 million,[11] the final cost of the film was $110 million,[3][21] which came down to around $100 million after tax credits.[2]
Casting
In June 2009,
On August 26, 2009, MMAjunkie.com reported that
On September 15, 2009, Variety confirmed the casting of Neeson, Cooper and Jackson. They additionally reported that Sharlto Copley and Jessica Biel were in final negotiations to join the cast. Copley would be playing the role of H.M. Murdock and Biel would be playing the ex-lover of Face who is a disillusioned and ruthless Army officer in charge of pursuing the team.[29] 20th Century Fox later confirmed that Copley and Biel were cast in the film.[9]
The first official pictures of Neeson, Cooper, Copley and Jackson in character included one which features the iconic van in the background.[13]
On October 30, 2009, Dwight Schultz confirmed that he had filmed a cameo scene for the movie.[30] This news was followed on November 23, 2009, that Dirk Benedict would also make a cameo.[31] Schultz and Benedict played Howling Mad Murdock and Templeton Peck respectively in the original series. Mr. T, the original BA Baracus, did not appear in the film. In an interview with Wendy Williams, he said he did not like doing a cameo appearance in a film based on the original series he once did.
Soundtrack
The A-Team: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | June 21, 2010 | |||
Genre | Film score | |||
Length | 72:28 | |||
Label | Varèse Sarabande | |||
Producer | Alan Silvestri | |||
Alan Silvestri chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [32] |
The soundtrack album of The A-Team was released on June 21, 2010,[33] by Varèse Sarabande.[34] On December 1, 2009, it was announced that
- Track listing
All music is composed by Alan Silvestri unless stated otherwise
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Somewhere in Mexico" (Uses original The A-Team Theme composed by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter) | 2:12 |
2. | "Saving Face" | 3:32 |
3. | "Alpha Mike Foxtrot" | 4:29 |
4. | "Welcome to Baghdad" | 4:22 |
5. | "The Plan" | 6:11 |
6. | "Court Martial" | 3:09 |
7. | "Putting the Team Back Together" | 3:39 |
8. | "Flying a Tank" | 6:10 |
9. | "Frankfurt" | 4:11 |
10. | "Retrieving the Plates" | 4:09 |
11. | "Safehouse" | 3:50 |
12. | "Safehouse Aftermath" | 4:58 |
13. | "Shell Game" | 2:44 |
14. | "The Docks (Part 1)" | 7:35 |
15. | "The Docks (Part 2)" | 5:47 |
16. | "I Love It When a Plan Comes Together" (Uses original The A-Team Theme composed by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter) | 5:26 |
Total length: | 72:28 |
Songs used in the film are:
- "House of Pain" by The Game
- "Shut Up" by Trick Daddy
- "Trio Para Enamorados (Trio for Lovers)" by Jorge Calandrelli
- "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)" (Sung onscreen by Sharlto Copley)
- "A-Team Blastoff Suite" by Tom Morello
- "I Got Mine" by The Black Keys
- "I've Been Lonely for So Long" by Frederick Knight
- "The Washington Post" by John Philip Sousa
- "I Don't Want to Change Your Mind" by Wildlife
- "My Girl Has Rosenmand" written by Johannes Brahms and performed by Peter Schreier and Konrad Ragossnig
- "The Little Drummer Boy" written by Harry Simeone, Katherine K. Davis and Henry Onorati
- "Anarchy in the U.K." by Sex Pistols
- "I Ran 6 Miles" by Gary Sredzienski
- "Reelin' In the Years" written by Steely Dan
Marketing
Comics
In February 2010, it was announced a series of
Jazwares released a line of action figures featuring the four main characters, plus the GMC Vandura.
Video game
An application for the iPhone was released as part of the marketing blitz for the film. The A-Team application is a side-scrolling, third person, action shooter game. Produced by RealNetworks the game includes voice-overs from B.A. Baracus.[38]
Release
The film premiered in
The film premiered in the United Kingdom on July 27, 2010, before going on general release the next day. The event was attended by the four team members along with Jessica Biel, and the A-Team van.[41]
Home media
The film was released on December 14, 2010 on DVD and Blu-ray.[42] It was released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 27 in Australia and on November 29, 2010 in the UK. An extended cut was also released, pushing the running time to 133 minutes.[43] Two of the most noteworthy additions in the extended cut were the two cameo scenes of the original Face and Murdock, which were pushed back after the end credits in the original cut due to pacing.[44]
Reception
Box office
The film fell slightly short of expectations for its opening weekend, earning $26 million, as opposed to the initially predicted $30–35 million.[2] The film opened behind
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 49% based on 208 reviews with an average rating of 5.40/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The A-Team assembles a top-rate cast only to ditch the show's appealingly silly premise for explosive yet muddled blockbuster filmmaking."[47] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 47 out of 100 based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[48] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[49]
Film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said The A-Team is an incomprehensible mess, criticizing the film for being as shallow as the television series, which he describes as "punishment" when drawn out to a two-hour-long film.[55] Stephen Whitty of The Star-Ledger complained the film makers remembered little more from the television series than a Dirty Dozen gimmick and compares the film to the "awful" Smokin' Aces by the same director.[56]
Comments by original cast
Dirk Benedict, who played Templeton "Faceman" Peck in the TV series, spoke of regretting his cameo, stating "You'll miss me if you blink. I kind of regret doing it because it's a non part. They wanted to be able to say, 'Oh yeah, the original cast are in it,' but we're not. It is three seconds. It's kind of insulting."[57]
Mr. T, the original B. A. Baracus, was offered a cameo, but turned it down, feeling it would not be right for him to appear in the film if he did not play Baracus.[58] In a 2010 interview with Script magazine, director Joe Carnahan claimed that Mr. T, after viewing scenes from the film, thought the final product was "the greatest thing in the world".[59] After the premiere of the film Mr. T allegedly stated that he had become disillusioned and felt the story emphasized sex and violence, and that it was unfaithful to the original series.[60] An attorney for Mr. T later stated that the actor had not yet seen the film and could not comment on it.[61]
Dwight Schultz, who played the TV series' "Howling Mad" Murdock, issued a statement to his official fansite that the film "pays homage to the series while it eschews its essential working premise: a band of capable military brothers for hire determined to save underdog and usually poor civilians from scum. ... The team characters are sufficiently different and, with so many roles reversed from the original, one could say they are not really derivative, save for their names." He also noted that Sharlto Copley's Murdock "is faithful to the original, but at the same time is big screen twisted and right at home with the new team."[citation needed]
Accolades
Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
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IGN Awards[62] |
Best Action Movie | The A-Team | Nominated |
Teen Choice Awards[63] | Choice Summer Movie | ||
Taurus Awards[64] |
Hardest Hit | Brian Machleit (stunt double) | Won |
Cancelled sequel
Neeson, Cooper, Copley and Jackson originally expressed interest in doing a sequel.[65][66] Joe Carnahan expressed interest in directing a sequel and said it would depend on DVD and Blu-ray sales and rentals.[67] On March 10, 2011, Cooper stated that the film had not generated enough revenue for there to be a sequel.[68] This was confirmed by Liam Neeson in a webchat.[69] Neeson later commented in early 2012 that he understood why the film was not successful: "I watched it about two months ago and I found it a little confusing and I was in the thing. I just couldn’t figure out who was who and what’s been done to him and why, a little bit."[70] Later in 2013 Carnahan said on his Twitter account: "For the record guys and as much as I appreciate all the A-TEAM love. There will NOT be a sequel. It didn't make enough $$$ and that's that."[71]
References
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on track to sell between $30 million and $35 million worth of tickets at the box office this weekend, people who have seen pre-release polling results say.
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External links
External image | |
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Gallery of promotional images at Box Office Mojo |
- The A-Team at IMDb
- The A-Team at AllMovie
- The A-Team at Rotten Tomatoes
- The A-Team at Box Office Mojo
- The A-Team at Metacritic
- The A-Team at The Numbers