Sometimes you just want to relax with a fun action movie, where it seems like the heroes are having a great time, and there’s a lot to watch and enjoy as set pieces roll across the screen. 2010’s update on the classic Lupo/Cannell series The A-Team is very much one of those movies for me. Throw in a couple of cameos and nods to the original series, and there was almost no way I was going to not like this one.

And in point of fact, I truly enjoyed it, and having re-watched it recently, I found I still enjoy it, and it stands up. It’s a solid, and entertaining popcorn action movie. Sure some things defy credibility, but did you ever see the show?

Col. Hannibal Smith (Liam Neeson), Templeton ‘Faceman’ Peck (Bradely Cooper), ‘B.A.’ Baracus (Quinton Jackon), and Murdock (Sharlto Copley) are an alpha unit or A-Team, who are tried and sent to a military prison for a crime that, well they definitely committed it, but it was on orders and an off-the-books mission, but they thought they had clearance.

When the only person who could clear their name has their vehicle blown up right in front of them, Hannibal is determined to figure out what went wrong, who set them up, and reclaim the stolen engraving plates that their mission was to recover.

Promptly breaking out of military prison, the group go underground, determined to discover the truth and clear their names. It won’t be easy as the CIA is involved, with Agent Lynch (Patrick Wilson) pursuing them, former captain and Face’s former flame, Sosa (Jessica Biel) is after them as well, and tied up in all of this is a private security force that is the face of corporate warfare, operating outside military law.

It’s fun, ridiculous, and there is a real sense of chemistry between the four leads and that was the hook for me. If I could believe they were friends, that they fought together, had gone on some eighty odd missions together, then I knew I could get wrapped up in the film and follow it wherever it led.

And I did.

This was  film that was never going to win any awards, but not all movies have to. Some just have to provide with mounds of entertainment, and let you forget your troubles for awhile. This one does that, and it throws in a nice dose of nostalgia for those of us who are 80s kids.

It’s too bad the box office wasn’t what Universal wanted, because apparently there were talks of a sequel, and I would have signed on for that in a heartbeat. As far as I’m concerned, the movie was a very worthy successor to the television series, and I need to find time to watch it again soon.