By Peter Covino

Entertainment Editor

The A-Team should be perfect summer entertainment.

Lots of explosions, a ridiculous plot you don’t care about, more explosions, followed by some car crashes and then a few more explosions, all capped off with Mr. T’s famous Mohawk.

I was never a fan of this seemingly brainless show, but still had hope that it’s outrageous plots and situations would work pretty well on the big screen.

And it does — occasionally. But The A-Team is almost a two hour film and there just isn’t two hours of mindless entertainment included here.

It has been more than 25 years since Colonel Hannibal Smith, Captain Murdock, Lieutenant “Faceman” Peck and Sergeant Bosco Baracus first began their adventures on the small screen.

They were Vietnam War veterans in the original series. This new A-Team has the same names (and they are cast to even look like George Peppard, Dirk Benedict, Mr. T etc. but they are veterans of the Iraqi war. And like their original counterparts, they are still mercenaries and wanted by the government.

The new film tries to tell the beginning and early history of The A-Team before the long opening credits are over.

Liam Neeson is the new head of the outfit (Hannibal Smith) and after a close brush with death in Mexico, he and the other members of the team, have their first adventure. Then it is eight years later and the A-Team has already shared dozens of similar adventures together.

Unfortunately, of all those dozens of adventures, they saddle us with this one: Some Iraqi loyalists have been minting U.S. currency and are just about ready to move their mint and money onto the market.

The A-Team (which this go-round includes Bradley Cooper as “Face,” Quinton “Rampage” Jackson as Baracus and in the best bit of casting, Sharito Copley as the often crazy Murdock) mission is a failure though and because it was unauthorized, they are sent to prison, except for Murdock who ends up in a mental institution.

You can’t keep the A-Team down for long though and soon, with some outside help, the A-Team has escaped and is back on the job and once again on the trail of the mint plates.

The plot only exists for the action scenes, which in themselves are just what you would expect for a film such as this, and not much more, though it is interesting to see a flying tank I suppose.

“Rampage” Jackson just might be the biggest disappointment of all filling in for Mr. T. Those are mighty big shoes to fill for sure, and Jackson never does quite deliver the goods. Amazingly, not once does he utter “I pity the fool,” though he does have “pity” and “fool” tattooed on his knuckles.

Also pretty much wasted is Jessica Biel, an army officer that got her rank busted after in that first A-Team caper, and spends the rest of the film trying to bring them to justice. She also is a former love interest to “Face.”

It all sets up for the inevitable sequel though, if this turns out to be a blockbuster. And maybe even a sequel if it isn’t a blockbuster.

Heck, they can can even recast The A-Team for a second film. Hardly anyone would even notice.

Critic's rating: C-

The A-Team is rated PG-13.