The A-Team

Hiya!!

There wasn't much about it in the news, but on September 30, 2010, we lost one of the most influential screen writers of our time-- Stephen J. Cannell. I purposefully did not call him the greatest, but I will stand by influential. Undeniably prolific, Cannell had his hand in so many of my favorite shows.  Many of his shows were corny, and some even formulaic, but all were fun.

I would love to watch his shows and just forget the troubles of the day.  These were the shows we made fun of (many people denied watching them at all), yet they were so popular that almost all aired for many seasons.  His famous ending from each show was his fast typing on an IBM Selectric III typewriter (I wish I could type as fast as he could), wearing a smile and a goatee, and then ripping the paper out and tossing it in the air.  As it slowly descended onto a stack of papers, the stack would form his logo.  For those of you who don't know, Stephen J Cannell's contributions include:

Ironside, Adam-12, Columbo, Black Sheep Squadron, Baretta, Nightrider, Rockford Files, Greatest American Hero, Hunter, Mike Hammer, 21 Jump Street, The Commish and The A-Team.

"The A-Team" was just released to DVD, and I had to watch it.  I crossed my fingers, because I had such a bad experience with "Mission Impossible." I hate it when they make a movie out of one of my favorite shows... and ruin it.

Mission Impossible," the movie, started out pretty ok by following the spirit of the show. I became incensed, however, as the the "real" story began to unfold. See, the opening of the movie was similar to a James Bond flick-- the opening sequence really was not a part of the story. But when Mr Phelps later assembled his team for the real mission, it didn't take long for me to see that Mr. Phelps was going to be the bad guy (made even more pronounced by being portrayed by Jon Voight- save for "National Treasure," he is the go-to bad guy). Oh, I know this is a spoiler alert, but if you haven't seen Mission Impossible by now, I submit you are not much of a fan.

Anyway, I almost had to be carried out of the theater.  They kept telling me it was only a movie.  I kept telling them that they had sullied one of my heroes.  There was NO way Mr. Phelps would turn... ever!! Well, they needed a younger lead, they countered.  A new generation wouldn't care that Tom Cruise was too young to play Phelps, I argued. If they were worried about sequels, they could have had Cruise play Phelps, and found some other mole.

So, after being told over and over that an alteration is not so bad-- that TV and theater are different-- I offered to remake "Miracle on 34th street."  Only this time I will make Santa a child molester-- would anyone be upset??  Why?? It's just a movie.  Heroes aren't important-- just  as long as there is a good hook. There's always some reason to explain why good guys go bad. Ok, I digress-- I know, I know... not the first time.

Anyway, we lost an icon, so here I was, renting "A-Team," and praying this would be a different experience for me.  Granted, "A-Team" is no "Mission Impossible."  How bad can you screw up the "A-Team"? It was corny, campy, cheap, unbelievable and corny-- did I say corny twice? Good-- it was corny.  Still, it was always fun.

I am happy to report that I really enjoyed the movie. It kept the spirit, but removed the corny.  It was much more realistic (except for the stunts) and, yet, still fun. It wasn't cheap-- they put some money into the cast and sunts and locations, etc.-- and it has plenty of action and comedy.

I see this movie more like the "Star Trek" remake of the show.  The show used cardboard sets and the movie used CGI and showed us the parts or the ship and the universe we had never seen on the screen.  The A-Team show used spring boards to jettison vehicles, etc, while the movie shows us the real action.

The story moves along, and I liked all the characters. There was a good mix of familiarity and newness to it. I also like that you can watch the movie without knowing anything about the show- or you can be a fan of the show, and not be constantly comparing notes.

If you don't like action movies, this probably isn't your cup of tea. But, having said that, if you like comedic banter, this movie could be right up your alley. I do not remember any graphic violence-- the violence wasn't campy, but it wasn't over-the-top either.  It still seemed to be all in the spirit of fun, to me.

So, for a nice ride (remembering that I liken movies to rollercoasters, not books), rent "The A-Team," and sit back and relax. You'll laugh more than once-- even if you don't know that B.A. hates to fly, that Murdoch is crazy, that Face has abs as well, and that Hannibal loves it when a plan comes together.

Have a great day, my movie friend!!

Warm regards,
Fred T Wyrick