Man, I loved The A-Team. It was a simpler time back in 1983. I was 7 years old, and the exploits of a gang of soldiers for hire driving a bad-ass van were simply too much for my young brain to process. Jump ahead 27 years and here comes Hollywood to further crap all over my childhood. The trailer for The A-Team is preposterous: Fast cars, big guns, things shooting other things in the sky while falling after being shot themselves and exploding — and was that Jessica Biel with some guy's hand down her pants?!!?

Ok, so the casting isn't half-bad. In addition to the lovely Biel, there's Liam Neeson lending gravitas and taking over for George Peppard as Hannibal; The Hangover's Bradley Cooper, maybe even prettier than Dirk Benedict, as Templeton "Face" Peck; MMA star Quinton "Rampage" Jackson showcasing the brawn (and the mohawk) Mr. T rode to stardom as strongman B.A. Baracus; and finally, in what may be the most genius casting of all, District 9's terrific Sharlto Copely gets to channel Dwight Schultz as lunatic pilot H.M. "Howling Mad" Murdoch.

That's a lot of talent, but can director Joe Carnahan rise above his resume (most notable credit: Smokin' Aces) to deliver a quality A-Team flick? We'll find out on June 11.

Trailer after the jump …

This article appears in Jan 6-12, 2010.