THE A TEAM MOVIE - FIRST REVIEWS ARE SEMI-POSITIVE

The original was standard Universal TV cheese, with a tantalizing premise. Four Special Service superheroes have been cashiered for a crime they didn't commit; and while they search for the real malefactor they hire themselves out for worthy causes. But the show began after the main event, and didn't resolve the question of who done the Teamies in. (Imagine The Fugitive without Richard Kimble bringing the one-armed man to justice.) Members of the quartet were supposed to personify character extremes: the born leader Hannibal (George Peppard), the ladies' man known as Face (Dirk Benedict), the crazy genius Murdock (Dwight Schultz) and Afro toughie B.A. (Mr. T). Except for the T Man, the group was pretty wan, the action scenes mostly ordinary and the whole series a diversion from the Team's essential mission.

The new version, directed by explosives enthusiast Joe Carnahan, from a script credited to Carnahan, Brian Bloom and Skip Woods, knows enough to begin with the Team's origins. Eight years before, actually — ostensibly to introduce the new A-Team but also to break the 2010 record for most daredevil escapes through flaming buildings. Then it motors at top speed, with a quip and a strut, through some very imaginative set pieces. It won't win any Oscars, but it's only a freakin' movie, Ingrid.

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