The A Team

Before we go any further we must directly address director Joe Carnahan and composer Alan Silvestri.

Look, you’ve got one of the most (if not the most) recognisable opening bars to a theme ever to play with – why include it only twice in the entire movie? What are you thinking? People who turn up to see it are expecting it – hell they’re waiting for it – so it makes sense not to disappoint them.

The A Team is pure frothy fun – not quite as successful a reboot as Star Trek (sorry, that has become a bit of a benchmark when it comes to summer movies…) but still enough of what you were expecting whilst being different to be fun. The characters remain pretty much what they were previously – albeit with a bit of modern polish – and the casting is nigh on perfect, especially Sharlto Copley as Murdoch (much more dangerous than he was in the TV series). It’s never going to win awards for originality, but it sets out its stall pretty early on and sticks with it.

Surprisingly the plot is better than we could have expected – again it’s not exactly mind blowing – having space for a bit of suspense and a few twists. However focus remains on the characters, all of whom (from the smallest player upwards) seem to be at least have some motivation.

It’s instantly forgettable, but it’s the sort of big budget fun (with what appears minimal CGI work involved – except the tank set-piece and one shot near the end) that passes a summer evening.