'A-Team': Bradley Cooper Turns Face Into James Bond?

[Blowfeld]

Posted 1 hr ago by Larry Carroll in News

All week long, we’ve been giving you an exclusive look at the new “A-Team,” straight from the mouth of the director of the June 11th film that will bring them to the big screen, Joe Carnahan. From B.A. Baracus to “Howlin’ Mad” Murdock to the villainous Lynch, fans seem likely to see a good mix of the old and the new. Now, “A-Team Week” continues with an exclusive peek at the prettiest part of the crack commando unit: The Face Man.

“I think Dirk Benedict gave [Bradley Cooper] the biggest compliment: ‘This was who I wanted to be’,” Carnahan recalled of the day when the original Templeton Peck visited the set to film a cameo.

During his time there, Benedict had some kind words to say about Cooper’s re-interpretation of the character as a manlier, tougher Face. “I'll just give you an example of how different [Cooper’s Face] is: Bradley is in an inverted position, almost laying backwards, strapped to the side of this moving truck [in one scene].”

“[Cooper] was able to empty an M-4 and reload it in under four seconds,” Carnahan said of the new badass Face. “And we kept it in the movie, because it is so impressive. And that's how good he got, weapons-wise, that he's in command on that. You see him, and it's like he was holding an old girlfriend.”

As fans may remember, Face was always the group's diplomat, aiming for a non-violent resolution –- usually negotiating with a female -– before the team’s muscle had to come in and take things by force. And Carnahan promised that although Cooper’s Face will be more battle-tested than Benedict’s, he’ll still have a way with the ladies.

“I saw chicks get excited the way he handled that weapon,” Carnahan said with a laugh, insisting that the “Hangover” star is ready to take center stage as a sex symbol. “He got in the best shape of his life, by his own admission. He was just cut to shreds, eating sautéed spinach at every meal and drinking lemon water.”

Although some die-hard fans might be more concerned about Copley as Murdock or Rampage as B.A., Carnahan admitted that whether the movie will work or not hangs largely on Cooper's shoulders. “If there's going to be any deviation from the original show, I think it's going to be with the Face character,” Carnahan explained. “He's just as suave, but more of a Bond character. He really gets pretty funky in this thing, and you see a little bit of that in the teaser as he's dueling with this drone predator from the falling tank.”

“But I think people will be very pleased by that performance,” the “Smokin’ Aces” filmmaker insisted. “Especially giving Dirk Benedict the cameo, I think people will really dig it.”

What do you think of a badass, Bond-like Face Man? An improvement over the original, or too much of a deviation?

This story can be found at MTV Movie Blog

[Dr. No]

I don't know about ATeam remake. Part of me wants to see it, part of me is afraid they;ll ruin the show i loved. I pity the fool!

[Kristatos]

I can't imagine The A-Team with somebody else playing BA Baracus.

[mcbride007]

There is only one face - Dirk.

[Mazer Rackham]

There is going to be lot of scrutiny on the new team. Liam Neeson is a talented actor but George Peppard was a brilliant bit of casting.

Speaking of Peppard any Banacek fans out there?

[Capt. Sir Dominic Flandry]

There is going to be lot of scrutiny on the new team. Liam Neeson is a talented actor but George Peppard was a brilliant bit of casting.

Speaking of Peppard any Banacek fans out there?

Banacek appeared on British TV a few years ago in the traditional daytime TV detective slot. Is that the one where he has the classic car or is that Petrocelli?

Most of the old detective shows have an airing, but Murder She Wrote and Quincy are on constantly.

Regarding the A-Team, how can you replace Mr. T, George Peppard, Dirk Benedict and that other fella with the toupee from Star Trek? A dream cast.

[Mazer Rackham]

Petrocelli another one people might not remember. Petrocelli drove around it a beat-up old pickup truck, Banacek had the classic cars and enough 1970s cutting edge technology and beautiful women to make Roger Moore want to visit Boston. Although for the most part Banacek traveled by limousine.

Even though it featured George Peppard most people haven't heard of Banachek. The twist on the series was for detective whodunit he almost never dealt with murders it was all insurance recovery for for which he received a percentage for recovering. In the strange but true category Banachek was going to be renewed but Peppard turned it down to keep his ex-wife Elizabeth Ashley from receiving a larger percentage of his earnings as part of their divorce settlement. I also heard other excuses like he quit because George Eckstein left.

The A-Team audience is nostalgia based, time will tell if they come to see it and how they react to childhood favorites being rewritten. Of the recast team I think Sharlto Copley (District 9) as H.M. will surprise and please the audience while doing justice to the character.