Movie Review The A-Team

The A-Team (2010) 

Directed by Joe Carnahan

Written Joe Carnahan, Skip Woods, Brian Bloom 

Starring Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Rampage Jackson, Sharlito Copley 

Release Date July 10th, 2010

Published July 10th, 2010

It seems like such an awful idea. Another cheesy TV show getting a big screen treatment? Ugh. But, then the makers of “The A-Team” made some very sly moves. First they hired writer-director Joe Carnahan (Narc) to rewrite the script and direct. Then they brought in Liam Neeson, just off of his badass turn in “Taken,” and Bradley Cooper, hot off his star-making role in “The Hangover.”

Even better, the producers nabbed Sharlto Copley hot off of surprise Oscar nominee “District 9” and plucked UFC star Rampage Jackson from the hottest sport in the country to take on the iconic role made famous by Mr. T. Each move was spot on and the final product, while not great cinema, is a near perfect summer movie, a smart blend of action, star power and over the top fun.

Hannibal Smith (Liam Neeson) is a longtime Colonel with the elite Army Rangers. With his team, including Lt. Templeton 'Faceman' Peck (Cooper), Captain H.M 'Howling Mad' Murdock (Copley) and Corporal Bosco 'B.A' Baracus, Colonel Smith have run successful missions around the globe.

The latest mission takes the so-called 'A-Team' to Iraq where stolen mint plates could allow bad guys to print unlimited amounts of American currency. The A-Team must retrieve the plates and the money from an armored transport crawling with armed insurgents. This task turns out to be the easy part.

The hard part comes when Smith and his team are double-crossed by American mercenaries for hire who kill the General who sent the A-Team on their mission, steal the plates and leave the A-Team to take the blame. Under arrest and court martial from the military, Hannibal Smith and his team will need to escape if they want to clear their names and seek revenge against those that set them up.

On opposite ends of this conspiracy are CIA Agent Lynch (Patrick Wilson) and Department of Justice Investigator Charisa Sosa (Jessica Biel). Lynch was there when Smith was given the assignment to retrieve the plates and turns up to help the team escape prison. Sosa was the one who warned Face not to take the assignment, and ended up arresting the team and leading the search to recapture them. She, of course, also has a history with Face.

The plot is a mere litany of set up, big explosion, brief aftermath and repeat. It's all very easy to follow and never intrudes on the true intent of “The A-Team,” which is to provide goofball, over the top, summer movie action and fun. Though not entirely brain free, “The A-Team” will not be mistaken for great cinema; it exists and succeeds on a different path, as a well-crafted nostalgia product.

Director Joe Carnahan is a master of clever carnage, setting his stage for big explosions and surrounding the massive special effects with lighthearted character scenes, aided greatly by a game cast. Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper and Sharlto Copley have endless fun with these goofy, charming characters. UFC fighter Rampage Jackson is fun as well but his strain as an actor, especially opposite such natural performers, is quite noticeable.

The smartest aspect of The “A-Team” is never attempting to be more than it is. This is a goofy Summer Blockbuster that aspires to nothing more than thrilling special effects and clever, funny action and character bits. The best of the bunch has the team escaping a crashing plane inside a tank with parachutes and using the tank's gun to aim the falling tank toward a lake for a safe landing all while defending themselves from attacking drone aircraft.

“The A-Team” will leave you shaking your head at how completely off the charts goofy it is, but you will be smiling the whole time. The terrific cast seems to be having as much fun playing these goofy scenes as we have watching them and director Joe Carnahan corrals all of the charm and chaos of “The A-Team” into one terrific summer blockbuster.

Movie Review Smokin' Aces

Smokin' Aces (2007) 

Directed by Joe Carnahan

Written by Joe Carnahan 

Starring Ryan Reynolds, Jeremy Piven, Ben Affleck, Chris Pine, Ray Liotta, Alicia Keyes, Taraji P. Henson, Andy Garcia, Jason Bateman

Release Date January 26th, 2007

Joe Carnahan was getting his ass kicked. On his first blockbuster assignment, Mission Impossible 3, Carnahan was dealing with a restrictive studio, a demanding star in Tom Cruise, and an unwieldy script that just never made sense for Carnahan’s style of filmmaking. While it would have been a dream project for anyone in Carnahan’s position, leaving Mission Impossible 3  was a blessing for Carnahan who went back to his own work. With the blockbuster behind him, Carnahan was able to make Smokin’ Aces a movie that is perhaps the purest distillation of Carnahan’s style of filmmaking. 

Smokin' Aces is the result of Carnahan's studio movie frustrations. An ultra-violent, multi-character action pic with a final act that kicks the doors down. Smokin' Aces crosses a dash of Tarentino with a hint of Guy Richie and a little Scorsese. But this is no mere homage to other filmmakers. The final act of Smokin' Aces is all Carnahan, an operatic denouement that turns a jaunty exercise in major film violence into a grand guignol of violent drama and revenge fantasy.

Simply put, Smokin' Aces kicks ass.

In a penthouse hideout in Lake Tahoe, Buddy 'Aces' Israel (Jeremy Piven) is hiding out, waiting for the feds to finish his deal. Buddy is turning state's evidence against the mobsters who made him a star lounge act on the Vegas strip. However, do not make the mistake of thinking Buddy is just another snitch. This move comes after his attempt to transition from lounge act to gangster nearly got him killed.

While Buddy hides out his old mob buddies have thrown a one million dollar bounty down on his head and every top hitman in the world wants a piece. Converging on Lake Tahoe are some of the most bloodthirsty cutthroats in the business of cutting throats. Worst of this lot are the Tremor brothers (Chris Pine, Kevin Durand, Maury Sterling), crazed terrorists with no fear of killing in broad daylight, in front of thousands of witnesses. Throwing bombs, literally, the Tremors are as subtle as a jackhammer but they are efficient killers.

On the slightly more subtle side, Georgia (pop star Alicia Keyes) and her girl Sharice (Taraji P. Henson) plan on stealth but carry a 50 caliber machine gun in case things get nasty. On the international front, Pasquale Acosta (Nestor Carbonell) is an efficient killer who specializes in the quiet kill. Assimilating himself to any situation he gets up close and personal with his victims and kills with icy determination.

The most underestimated and lethal killer is a shape-shifter named Lazlo Soot (Tommy Flanagan). No one has ever seen his real face, he specializes in masks and various torture techniques. Standing against this evil menagerie are a pair of FBI agents, Carruthers (Ray Liotta) and Messner (Ryan Reynolds) who have no idea just how bad things are about to get as their boss (Andy Garcia) works on Buddy's witness protection deal.

That is just a thumbnail sketch of the plot of Smokin' Aces which also makes room for roles filled by Ben Affleck, Common, Jason Bateman, Martin Henderson and Peter Berg. These roles may or may not be essential to the film's finale but they all combine for one of the funniest, gaudiest and largest  ensembles of any movie ever. Smokin’ Aces featured stars who would go on to dominate much of the next decade as blockbuster leading men. It’s a testament to how much people believed in the vision of Joe Carnahan back in the day. 

Joe Carnanhan made a killer debut with the movie Blood Guts and Octane back in 2000 and Narc in 2002. But with Smokin' Aces, Carnahan affirmed his directorial chops with a slick, stylish modern thriller that while it evokes many comparisons, in the end, it's all Carnahan After two acts of snarky, over the top violence, the third act of Smokin' Aces becomes a hardcore drama in which Ryan Reynolds' FBI agent steps forward and takes over the picture.

Reynolds had never been known as an action hero or a great dramatic actor before Smokin’ Aces 2006 release but in the final scenes of Smokin' Aces, Reynolds matured before our eyes and quickly showed the ability to take over and dominate a scene with something other than snappy one-liners. The former Van Wilder is a true badass in Smokin’ Aces, an early example of the full power of his superstar charisma. 

Smokin' Aces is a high octane violent spectacle. A superstar ensemble cast brought together by a then rising star director made for one seriously cool movie that has somehow become lost to history over a decade and a half later.. Many considered Smokin' Aces derivative at the time and that perception perhaps lingers, but for me, the cool factor is just undeniable and that goes a long way to redeeming whatever elements may feel overfamiliar today. 

And then there is that killer third act which takes Smokin' Aces from just another ultra-violent modern thriller into a whole other realm of high cool. Smokin Aces is so cool that it’s no wonder that Carnahan has never been able to recapture the magic of it. Carnahan has floundered over the last decade doing punch ups on terrible movies and delivering some of the most forgettable directorial efforts of the last decade and a half. It’s a shame but at least he will always have Smokin’ Aces as a reminder that at his best, Carnahan made one heck of a great action movie. 

Movie Review Narc

Narc (2002) 

Directed by Joe Carnahan 

Written by Joe Carnahan 

Starring Ray Liotta, Jason Patric, Busta Rhymes, Chi McBride

Release Date January 10th, 2002

Published January 12th, 2002 

We have seen it dozens of times, movies about rogue cops who break all the rules to get the job done. Every actor in the world has played this role from Pacino and DeNiro to Scwarzenegger and Stallone. So what is it about Ray Liotta and Jason Patric in Narc that takes this overused concept and makes it fresh and intense? I'm not exactly sure, but Director Joe Carnahan taps into something that makes Narc a kinetic, high energy drama.

Jason Patric stars as Nick Tellis, an undercover narcotics officer. When we meet Nick for the first time he is chasing a drug dealer through the streets, frantically firing his weapon as the druggy uses a pair of drug needles as weapons on unsuspecting passers by. The confrontation comes to a head in a park where the junkie takes a small boy hostage holding a drug needle to the boy's throat. With little forethought Nick fires three shots, shooting the junkie in the head and saving the little boy. Unfortunately one of the other two bullets Nick fired hit a pregnant woman and killed her unborn child.

Cut to 15 months later, Nick sits in front of a review board rehashing the incident. Nick is under the impression that the meeting is simply to determine whether he gets his job back or not. In reality the meeting is to determine whether or not he will accept an assignment to a particular case, the murder of an undercover police officer. The outcome of this investigation will determine whether or not he gets his job back or not.

Reluctantly, Nick agrees to the assignment and is partnered with the dead cop's partner, Henry Oak (Ray Liotta). Oak is the typical movie cop, a hothead who breaks all the rules and always gets his man. The two men don't get along well, but share a mutual respect that allows them to work together. They also share a willingness to bend the rules, which they do frequently as their investigation progresses.

The film's conclusion is somewhat predictable but somehow writer-director Joe Carnahan rises above the clichés and predictability to make a pretty good cop movie. It all hinges on the performances of Patric and Liotta. The believability of these two great actors combined with Carnahan's awesome handheld camerawork gives Narc an immediacy and purpose that lends suspense to the predictable.

The film isn't a mystery, any intelligent moviegoer knows where this story is going but we accept that because both Patric and Liotta are so endlessly watchable. As Liotta's brutal cop allows his motives to become clear you see the disillusionment that most cops must feel when they get into this violent and harrowing profession. Combine the rigors of the job and a deep personal loss and you begin to understand if not sympathize with his violent rule breaking approach. As for Patric, few actors have played cops so well fleshed out. Nick Tellis shares the same disillusionment as Liotta's Oak, he shares the same penchant for crossing the line between cop and criminal. They are separated only by moments in time.

The film's ending is a kick in the gut finisher that leaves the audience in a daze and makes you rethink everything you had seen before it. Everything leading up to the end is typical, cop movie suspense stuff, made watchable by great acting and unique camerawork. But the ending belongs to Carnahan who also penned the script. Forget what you hate about cop movies and forget what you think you know about Narc. This is a shocking brutal crime movie with a serious kick.