This is through-and-through an action movie, which means it takes place in a parallel universe where there are no repercussions for blowing up large amounts of property, and civilians are never nearby when the blowing up happens.
To cram as much as possible into this movie, it has a whole whack of plot elements, and feels somewhat crowded.
It felt like the movie had two intro sequences in quick succession: the first, when the four meet. The second, when their mission goes awry and they are disgraced.
At least with that format, we get to see several kooky missions, rather than just one. And one memorable scene where the team tries to fly a tank.
A tank.
Now, maybe it's just because I'm South African, but Sharlto Copley (HM Murdock) is the best thing in this movie. The main reason for this, I think, is that this group of men are known for their crazy, unorthodox methods, and Murdock is the craziest. He snuck in a reference to SA, too, which was awesome. So, despite his sometimes inconsistent accent, he's the most enjoyable of all.
The other characters were fine, albeit cliché, but the movie's genre excuses that. The banter between the four was top-notch, with Murdock's loose cannon, Hannibal Smith's (Liam Neeson's) father figure, Templeton Peck's (Bradley Cooper's) ladies' man and BA Baracus' (Quinton Jackson's) badass burly man, the team is heterogeneous enough to butt heads and cause hijinks.
One character I did find confusing was Lynch (played by Patrick Wilson). He starts off as a composed, dignified CIA agent, and somewhere in the movie he transforms into a frat boy. You could argue that this is the difference between the true Lynch and the all-for-show Lynch, but that only makes sense in real life. In movies, especially action movies, we expect clues about how people really are. I'm not saying there are no complex, intelligent action movies, but this isn't one.
It is, however, a boatload of fun.
