Do We Really need an A-Team remake?

The decision to write this article came after reading this Daily News Story:
Liam Neeson may join cast of 'A-Team' film

To be totally honest, I've never watched a lot of the A-Team. I think that what actually keeps it relevant is the high amount of media exposure still given to Mr. T. and those commercials about vans and how they still rock (they really do rock). This being said, it is often wondered if classic media properties like this deserve to be remade. I ask a different question: Do classic media properties deserve NOT to be remade? My answer: yes, and here is why:


This is another remake of an old product that is still generally regarded positively. Like other recent remakes, it will only to be changed enough to guarantee it wont be worth watching. Examples include G.I. Joe, Speed Racer, and the recent film remake of Land of the Lost (I heard that tanked this weekend. What a shame).

This isn't like Transformers or classic Super Heroes, or even the successful Ocean's 11 remakes, where the potential for new stories are not ruined by the new actors involved. Transformers was an overwhelming success and superhero movies can go on forever without much issue due to the massive library of source material. The A-Team was more about the characters and the actors who played them, making a remake a very risky idea.

Don't get me wrong. I love Liam Neeson and respect his work. (Rob Roy was incredible and Phantom Menace was tolerable thanks to him). Mr. T. is a classic icon of the show. He primarily played himself with a name change, since his personality is so colorful and entertaining. It doesn't help that George Peppard (Hannibal) died or that dirk Benedict (Face) and Dwight Schultz ("Howling Mad" Murdock) are too old to reprise the roles.

Actor issues are just some of the issues I feel the need to discuss:

1: Why remake this franchise now? Of all times to do a remake of a vigilante group of ex-G.I. prisoners from the Vietnam era, what makes it relevant now? NBC tried the same thing resurrecting Knight Rider last fall and we all know how that went. Still worse, Knight Rider was remade into another TV Show. Movies have a much larger budget, and it would be a huge waste of Fox's cash should the the A-Team fail.

UPDATE: They are using the gulf war as the back story instead of Vietnam. Great. A vigilant group of Desert Storm G.I.s with their cell phones and other technology. The lack of those things made the show great, right?

2: Are they seriously not considering Mr. T. as Sgt. Baracus? Seriously? SERIOUSLY? Rumor says Quinton "Rampage" Jackson wants the part. I may throw up.



3: They better not update the god damn van. It doesn't need turbo boosters or machine guns or any of that nonsense. All they need to do is make sure Terry "The Hulk" Hogan is in it and they should be fine.

4: Would you like to watch the A-Team without that awesome intro? Would a remade intro do the show justice?

5: How could you top the "crime they didn't commit" in Vietnam with something from Iraq? For those who don't know, the original show explained that they were ordered to rob the Bank of Hanoi to assist the war endgame scenario, only to find that after a successful mission, their C.O. was killed by the Vietcong. This caused them to be accused of robbing a bank without evidence of being ordered to, and there was a court martial.

There are no banks worth robbing in Iraq, or at least none that would have any bearing on a war. Also, what economy in Iraq could collapse and still end the war? We'd have to burn all the oil or something right?

5: They won't make it a comedy. WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? The A-Team was hilarious! It was the huge draw of the show! sure, the aforementioned "Ocean's 11" style comedy is kinda dry and much more serious, but it doesn't fit the A-Team format at all. Just who are Fox and friends trying to draw with this movie? It certainly doesn't look like they are reaching out the show's fan base.



I guess the bottom line is that some classic properties should just be left alone. The Internet is an amazing thing that allows old content to live on and still be accessible. Instead of reliving the last generation's quality entertainment, Hollywood should really try to start generating quality original content. Just because last summer's remake of "Get Smart" went well doesn't mean all your TV-Land favorites should get a movie remake.

Whew. I guess that was a bit of a rant there, especially for someone that really isn't that invested in the A-Team. I guess I'm just of the belief that today's Hollywood is not capable of really extending it's creative wings and flying, like in the days of old. They come close sometimes, but just keep falling back into remake mode, and I think it's getting a bit tiring. The only good remake to the A-Team would be a video game.

Let the channel know what you think in the comments below.

~Jimmy "I pity the fools who make this movie" the G.