If you couldn't tell by the commercials, the violence in the movie is nothing if not consistent, and the opening segment of the film, which shows how the gang all met, is pretty over-the-top. The gang comes together purely by chance in Mexico -- and immediately execute their first successful mission. Eight years later, they're in Iraq, and one of the Army's most valuable assets. This, of course, is when the CIA taps them to steal back some printing plates for American currency, and the job, while executed perfectly, is sufficiently hush-hush that the A-Team take the fall when their commanding officer is killed and the plates go missing. It's pretty close to the TV show's Vietnam origin story, but in this case, the team is split up and sent to four prisons around the world. One by one, the CIA helps them escape, so they can help track down the plates, and the rest is noisy, flaming history. Literally -- most of their "plans" involve making a lot of noise and fire. But then, that's pretty accurate to the original show.

Really, the only thing that makes the movie worth seeing (besides the explosions) is the cast -- you can't help but want to hug Liam Neeson every time you see him, and Bradley Cooper is both hysterical and emotionally accessible as Faceman, who has a romantic history with the officer (Jessica Biel) tasked with recapturing them and wears his heart on his sleeve. Sharlto Copley's Howlin' Mad Murdock is a whirling dervish of pop-culture references and crazy-eyed madness, but when he occasionally gets sad or scared, his lapse into sober silence shows the character's soul. And UFC fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, playing B.A. Baracus, does a great impersonation of Mr. T (with occasional diversions into Dave Chappelle's Rick James) that does the original character justice. There's even a plot line where Baracus swears off violence, which may be a reference to Mr. T's born-again views or simply to the fact that the original A-Team rarely killed anybody. (Mr. T is also the only living cast member who turned down a cameo. Dirk Benedict and Dwight Schultz are in it, but only in a post-credits scene.)

As the evil CIA agent, Patrick Wilson channels whatever wicked, power-drunk cad Jason Patric channeled in The Losers, which is yet another similarity between the two films. (They both also end in ports, surrounded by shipping containers.) He's still a lot of fun, though, as is Brian Bloom as the leader of a mercenary group in Iraq who becomes yet another foe for the team. And it must have been a dream for director Joe Carnahan to land Gerald McRaney, Major Dad himself, to play the doomed General Morrison at the beginning of the film. There's a great cameo at the very end that I won't spoil for you, but let's just say that Mad Men fans should stick around for it. I don't know how many Mad Men fans are going to go see this loud, bombastic, unintelligent film, let alone make it through to the end, but consider yourself notified.

Find out what ever happened to the cast of the original A-Team.

Check out new A-Team star Bradley Cooper before he was famous.

Read an interview with A-Team star Sharlto Copley.

Did you see The A-Team? Let us know what you thought below, then see our comparison between the show and the movie!

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