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If any film demands to be graded on a curve, it's The A-Team.

Simply consider the notion of making a big-budget summer movie from of one of the cheesiest television shows of a cheesy TV era.

It's a crafty plan to lower your expectations. As long the movie isn't two hours of punching grandmothers and kicking puppies, you're likely to leave the theater saying, "That was better than I expected."

Guess what? It works like a charm.

The A-Team, against all odds, is one extremely entertaining film. It puts pedal to metal about 90 seconds in and never lets up. That's also savvy because it's also kind of a mess that would collapse under its own weight if it slowed down for more than two minutes.

Director Joe Carnahan (Smokin' Aces, Narc) isn't taking that chance. Action scenes come flying at you hard and heavy from start to finish. The results are mixed: Some sequences are choppy and confusing, others thrilling. But like a comedy that never stops pitching jokes, content if only half of them stick, The A-Team pitches action, action, action, with a side of action and a little action to wash it down.

The plot follows the general concept of the TV series with a few tweaks. A (very) lengthy credits sequence set in Mexico shows us how the team of former Army Rangers comes together: Leader John "Hannibal" Smith (Liam Neeson), his right-hand man Templeton "Face" Peck (Bradley Cooper), powerful Bosco "B.A." Baracus (Quinton "Rampage" Jackson) and loony pilot James "Howling Mad" Murdock (Sharlto Copley).

We jump ahead several years, where the A-Team is now an Army covert operations crew with dozens of successful missions under their belts. But when they're set up for a fall by a variety of villainous forces, the boys have to break out of jail and fight to clear their names.

That's pretty much all you wanted to know about the plot, right? Because it gets pretty confusing from there and doesn't matter in the slightest anyway. It's only there to support – that's right – action.

Before I tell you why A-Team is worth your hard-earned cash, I should lay out its many faults.

Though Carnahan directed, it's not surprising to see director Tony Scott was one of the producers. Too many scenes evince Scott's "look" – the camera shoved in way too tight on the actors, so you can't tell what the hell's going on in fight scenes or big gun battles.

The special effects are wildly uneven too, especially in the climax. It looks like the usual Hollywood problem of the CGI being "just good enough" to make a locked-in release date. This time, it's nowhere near good enough.

But then, The A-Team is a nitpicker's dream, if you really want to go there. Jessica Biel's casting seems like an inside joke – "we're not taking this seriously, and neither should you, so let's cast a gorgeous but astonishingly wooden actor in this role."

Maybe you're wondering whether she's really that bad. Look at it this way: This is the first major film role for "Rampage" Jackson, an MMA fighter. He's not great, but he's not too bad – and that's high praise for a non-actor stepping into the iconic role. Yet he's a good bit more believable than Biel.

So with those issues, what makes The A-Team so entertaining? The rest of the cast, actually. If you can look past Biel (actually, look right at her, that's what she's there for), the film is jam-packed with colorful, charismatic performances.

Neeson seems a bit odd at first stepping into George Peppard's shoes as Hannibal, being considerably taller, leaner and tougher. But that's appropriate for the movie, which is basically the TV show on (lots and lots of) steroids. No attempt is made to explain his Irish accent, nor that of Copley, who is South African. It doesn't matter: Somehow in this film, it works.

But the film decides early on to focus on Cooper, hot off his success in The Hangover, and it's the right choice. You'd never have guessed the guy who played eighth fiddle on Alias would be front-and-center for a star-making performance, but it's true.

The A-Team shows off Cooper's buffed-up physique almost to the point of absurdity – he's shirtless on screen more than Mark Wahlberg in Date Night – but Cooper's charisma carries the day throughout.

A well-rounded supporting cast also delivers. Patrick Wilson and Brian Bloom, as potentially shady characters related to the A-Team's troubles, steal every scene they're in. (It probably doesn't hurt that Bloom, a veteran actor mostly relegated to TV work, gets co-writing credit.) Their wonderfully brash characters bring welcome levity to the pounding machine of gunfights and explosions that propels The A-Team.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't note the drinking game that by all rights should be born from this film: Drink whenever a guy with icy blue eyes is on screen. You'd pass out halfway through the film.

There's Cooper and Neeson alone, plus Bloom and Wilson, with a little Gerald McRaney – yes, Major Dad himself – thrown in for good measure.

If you're really into dudes with bright blue eyes, The A-Team is like porn. If you're into nonstop action and lots of male bonding, The A-Team is like porn. If you're into deep, fully-realized female characters – well, look elsewhere.

But if you had to ask me what I would want a big-screen take on a really silly TV show to be, The A-Team more than fits the bill. It's ridiculous, sure. But it's also a ridiculous amount of fun.

The idea of a movie version of eighties television series the a-team didn't appeal to me at all. I assumed that they couldn't possibly capture the things that made the series so special. I have been proved wrong.

The A-Team is side-splittingly funny, action packed, clever and sexy.

I loved every single frame of this movie and sincerely hope they make another. The dialogue is witty and clever- and very quotable.

The stuntwork is amazing. I actually bought the DVD and this film is enjoyable even after several viewings.

The actors all do a great job in updating the iconic original characters.

Overkill is underrated. One of the many mottoes Colonel John Hannibal Smith throws around whilst hatching his brilliant plans, dispensing them like his insightful wisdom increases the chances of success. A motto director Joe Carnahan has taken to heart in making 'The A-Team'. A smart move, as complete and uncompromising exaggeration appears to be exactly what the format asked for. Especially since the translation of TV shows to the big screen has proved to be no easy task. Just look at 'Miami Vice', which pretty much bombed despite the presence of Michael Mann, the director/producer who created the original series. Or the near criminal trashing überhobbyist MacGuyver recently received by the hands of questionable farce 'MacGruber'. In a world so significantly different from the mid-eighties, the severely underpaid and hopelessly dated missions of the four fugitives could have very much been out of place as well.

The reincarnation by the hands of Carnahan however, avoids many of the pitfalls that the outdated format has to offer. For one, the director has brought the well known premise of the series to the present. Vietnam has been replaced by Iraq and the bad attitude of Bosco Baracus is not the only thing that makes the foursome dangerous: the happy-go-lucky stance of a team that rarely asked for enemy casualties has been replaced by an attitude that better suits a group of elite soldiers. What is especially striking is how well the cast handle their roles, and how much fun they have doing so. Understandable, since the characters in Carnahan's installment have been blown up as well. Hannibal in the hands of Liam Neeson, although not as charismatic as George Peppard, is equally complacently on the jazz whenever a dangerous situation can be even remotely relished. Templeton "Faceman" Peck in the version of Bradley Cooper enjoys the swindling of both women and all sorts of tools even more than his predecessor Dirk Benedict and the script provides Quinton "Rampage" Jackson with a philosophical depth to his distinctive character - and evolution thereof - in the BA 2.0 version. The acting skills of the professional wrestler are up for debate, but then again you never questioned Mr. T. either. Even though he played the bejeweled, Mohawk sporting powerhouse with an acute fear of flying as an overly enthusiastic pupil in a school musical, always staring at the next person to speak his lines way long before they had the floor. The biggest fun, however, comes from Howling Mad Murdock in the interpretation of 'District 9'-phenomenon Sharlto Copley, who occupies the crazy pilot with both a zest for life and an absolute fearlessness of death – cue the suicidal midair antics. His inimitable flying skills, Murdockian features (sock puppets and his interaction with BA for example) and especially his imitation of Mel Gibson in 'Braveheart' - including stick horse - make him the movies' main asset.

The script then. The plot, pretty much a side issue, continuously serves up action excesses – equally incredible and entertaining – but yields more than a whipped episode of the series stretched to a playing time of two hours. You could say the plot is kind of a cross section of the five years the series ran, if you omit the recurring missions the mercenaries entered into. There is plenty of borrowing from existing story lines, more or less adapted to the new universe of Carnahan. The film opens with a spectacular introduction of the four veterans some years ago - only Hannibal and Face are trusted comrades, BA and Murdock have still to cross their paths - setting up the Alpha team that started it all. Included of course, is a supporting role for the black GMC Van, which can impossibly be disregarded as the fifth member. Cut to eight years and eighty successful missions later, to the operation that sees the team become the proverbial scapegoat the series theme credits were based on – something to do with a crime they didn't commit. The bank robbery in Hanoi has been replaced by the hijacking of a truckload of counterfeit money in Baghdad, commanding General Morrison is still here. The CIA is present as well, in a possible set-up for a sequel in which Hannibal's outfit will be contracted by the organization in a reference to Stockwell (Robert Vaughn) of the fifth season of the series. The plot is driven by the aftermath of the robbery, offering supporting roles for Captain Charisa Sosa (the distractingly attractive Jessica Biel) and CIA man Lynch (Patrick Wilson, 'Watchmen'), but it's all a mere hook for ridiculous set pieces and extravagant action to be towed on.

Hannibal's crack commando unit must pull out all the stops in order to clear its name, in an adventure that at times offers absolute top entertainment. That is, if you're willing to believe that a parachute suspended tank (as seen in the trailer), wherein the fearless foursome escape from an exploding plane, can be easily maneuvered in midair using the inboard cannon, simultaneously discarding enemy aircraft like it's a game of Duck Hunt. There are enough sequences that ask more than a lot of your ability to shut off your brain, but as said that exaggeration is exactly what this film needed. 'The A-Team' is simply a masterful popcorn spectacle par excellence, offering high-level action entertainment and jokes that are more often than not very decently set up. The cast has great fun working with the pleasantly unlikely adventures and the story is – in good tradition - full of references to the 80's hit series it is based on. The plot falters a bit left and right and the credo overkill is underrated is at times perhaps taken a little too far, but that is merely an expected consequence of handing control over to the man behind 'Smokin' Aces'. Regardless, the oncoming release might well feature a well-deserved 'to be continued' by the time the end credits start rolling.

Amusing return to the classic series created by Stephen J Cannell , also here as producer along with Ridley Scott , with an appropriate cast and overwhelming C.G. special effects . Excellent homage to the entertaining episodes with a complex intrigue but following the canon and overemphasis on usual characterization and special effects . A new entry of the mythical series of ¨A Team¨ , this time written and directed by Joe Carnahan , the creator of the successful film titled "Smokin's aces" and many others ; here is developed the first meeting between Annibal Smith , and his pals . While on the lam, they became heroes for hire, working as good-guy vigilantes around the US or the world . At the end of their stint in Irak Col. John "Hannibal" Smith ( Liam Neeson in the role of the deceased George Peppard) and his team were framed for stealing some plates (which they had done, but under orders). The operative group is sent on an assignment to recover plates for printing 100 dollar bills that were utilized to print a billion dollars. After making the mission and returning to the base their commanding General (Gerald McRaney) is murdered in a blow up and the plates are robbed and they are condemned to an US and Germany military prison . They escaped and went on the run, pursued by Captain , later degraded Lieutenant Sosa (Jessica Biel). Hannibal Smith was their chief and an expert at disguises . Templeton Faceman (Bradley Cooper substituting Dirk Benedict) was the team's con artist and lady's man . M.A. Baracus (Quinton Rampage Jackson replacing Mr T) with extreme panic to flight , he was their mechanic , but also took care of mayhem and intimidation . The final member of the Team , "Howling Mad" Murdock (Sharlto Copley similar role to Dwight Schulz), was an expert but nutty pilot, and a certified lunatic , but they broke him out of a mental hospital whenever they needed him for a dangerous mission.

This entertaining story is concentrated on known characters as well as thrill-packed action and special effects although there're numerous of that too . The movie has unstopped ,tension, comedy , emotion, suspense and sensational scenarios like is customary development of the franchise . Spectacular , exciting , fast-paced , thrilling this is the description of this new cinematic outing of ¨A Team¨ , film that reinvents the saga through a perfect pulse narrative that does not give a second of rest to the spectator who is trapped for two hours approx. in a genuine visual spectacle . Humor , thrills , several agreeable characters and trademark effects abound and will please the series enthusiasts such as the neophyte .

The agreeable acting convinces , especially the leader Liam Neeson , the sympathetic Bradley Cooper and Brian Bloom in a super-villain role , while other players also make a nice work as Patrick Wilson and the gorgeous Jessica Biel. And of course , special appearance in brief cameos from Dwight Schulz and Dirk Benedict , though doesn't appear Mr. T. The moving final amazing the spectator , in which the stirring and spectacular scenes create a perfect union that terminates with an ending that leaves you stuck in the armchair facing the formidable spectacle as a privileged witness . It is the rebirth of the series, an enjoyable homage , the start of a new scenario . Fans of the series may find much to love , but others will be bewildered by excessive and breathtaking situations . Thrilling soundtrack by Alan Silvestri , he composes an impressive musical accompaniment to the film . Furthermore a colorful and glimmer cinematography by Mario Fiore . Suitable for family viewing , it's an entertaining adventure which young and old men will enjoy . Fans of the series will find very bemusing and fun . It is amusing to watch and aficionados are sure to love it , resulting to be one of the best adaptations based on TV series of the last times.

If you are looking for a light, funny and action packed movie, it doesn't get much better than this. The A-Team is very, very easy too take in, but never boring, has action-scenes that will blow you out of your seat and is stuffed with plenty of damn funny moments.

Also very nice for a change: this action/comedy film doesn't take itself too seriously. Which is quite refreshing if you take a look at all the 'comedy with a message' crap Hollywood produces these days.

The new B.A. (Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson), Murdock (Sharlto Copley), Hannibal (Liam Neeson) and Face (Bradley Cooper) are all great at their roles. Props for Patrick Wilson as the slick C.I.A. agent Lynch and Jessica Biel is lovely as always. Joe Carnahan, who wrote and directed this movie, simply did a great job and gives the audience exactly what it needs.

I'd say it was definitely worth my money.