“In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A-Team.”
So began “The A Team,” which hit the airwaves in 1983 and made a star out of Mr. T.
Flash forward 27 years. Hollywood has once again dipped for inspiration into the well of old TV shows and decided the time is ripe for a new “A Team.”
Except for updating the war from Vietnam to Desert Storm, little has changed in the new “A Team.” Four Army buddies must escape to clear their names after being framed for a crime they didn’t commit.
As TV shows go, “The A Team” was entertaining. It seemed as if there was a car chase and crash in every episode, or was that “The Dukes of Hazzard?” Hardly anyone ever died in “The A Team,” and the good guys always defeated the bad guys and undid some wrong.
Action shows were plentiful in the 1980s. Besides “The A Team” and “Dukes” you had “The Fall Guy,” “B.J. and the Bear,” “Knight Rider,” “MacGyver,” “Sheriff Lobo” and “Simon & Simon” to name only a few. All of them were mindless. Most of them were fun to watch.
There’s a lot of positive buzz about “The A Team,” so don’t be surprised if it posts strong opening numbers. It may even have legs as it competes with some lackluster competition.
Hollywood has mined TV Land for ideas for years.
Some movies based on TV shows have been pretty good. “The Fugitive” with Harrison Ford was exciting. “The Flintstones” with John Goodman was funny. “Maverick” with Mel Gibson was a true homage to the show and all TV westerns.
Others based on TV shows have fallen flat, including the recent “MacGruber.” Some of the other bombs are “My Favorite Martian,” “The Mod Squad,” “The Avengers” and “McHale’s Navy.”
If you’re in the mood for some good movies based on TV shows, try these six. All are available on video and DVD.
“Charlie’s Angels” (2000) – Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore star as the three women plucked from crummy police jobs and turned into kick-ass private detectives by the unseen Charlie Townsend in this movie based on the show that made a star out of Farrah Fawcett. Other stars include Bill Murray, Sam Rockwell and Kelly Lynch. The late John Forsythe provided the voice of Charlie, just as he did in the show. There was a pretty good sequel.
“Mission Impossible” (1996) – Tom Cruise stars as a U.S. agent who is accused of being a turncoat and must uncover the real bad guy in this movies based on the show that made Peter Graves a star. Other stars include Jon Voight, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames and Vanessa Redgrave. There were two pretty good sequels and a fourth sequel is planned.
“Get Smart” (2008) – Steve Carrell stars as the inept but effective spy in this movie based on the show that made “Would you believe …” a household phrase. Other stars include Anne Hathaway as the vivacious Agent 99, Dwayne Johnson, Bill Murray, Terrence Stamp and Alan Arkin. A sequel is planned for 2012.
“The Addams Family” (1991) – Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston star as Morticia and Gomez Addams, the heads of a kooky family that has a disembodied hand as a servant and a Frankenstein-like butler in this show based on the 1960s comedy that was based on a comic strip that mostly appeared in The New Yorker magazine. Other stars include Christina Ricci and Christopher Lloyd. There was a so-so sequel.
“The Brady Bunch Movie” (1995) – Shelley Long and Gary Cole star as the father and mother of a combined brood of three boys and three girls in this film that basically takes the 1970s version of the family and drops them into 1990s Los Angeles. Other stars include Christine Taylor as Marcia and Florence Henderson, the star of the original show, as Grandma Brady. There was a pretty good sequel.
“Serenity” (2005) – Fans of Joss Whedon’s ill-fated series “Firefly” love this movie that attempts to wrap up the series after it was cancelled by Fox. Stars include Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite and Summer Glau.
The cast of "Serenity."
No comments:
Post a Comment