Father and child sit together smiling while looking at a smart phone.

Want more recommendations for your family?

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for entertainment inspiration

Parents' Guide to

The A-Team

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Big explosions, big fun in big-screen adaptation.

Movie PG-13 2010 117 minutes
The A-Team Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 12+

Based on 23 parent reviews

age 12+

"The A-Team" - Parental and Artistic Review.

Sexual Content: Ever the ladies' man, Face makes out with several women—at least one of them a complete stranger—and he's caught in an adulterous relationship. A very attractive assistant is facetiously said to have been hired for her "great personality." Sosa and Face share a sensually violent moment in a photo booth. Later they kiss passionately. At least one woman is briefly shown wearing revealing clothes. A pair of panties is seen on Face's prison bed after a conjugal visit. 4.8 out of 10. Violent/Gory Content: Scores of people are brutally punched, kicked, shot or shot at, held at gunpoint, pummeled and/or hit over the head. Helicopters, fighter jets and small arms let loose what must be hundreds of thousands of bullets and missiles. Multiple aircraft and military vehicles are shot down and/or crash, causing Armageddon-level explosions. A ship, a dock and countless shipping containers detonate and crumple into a massive fireball. Buildings explode into infernos after being bombed. The A-Team's plane gets shot down at 20,000 feet, so they "fly" a military tank (which was in the plane's hold) to safety instead, maneuvering its parachutes and firing its machine guns to "steer" into a lake. A man runs into traffic, causing a head-on collision. Vehicles crash through walls or other structures. Gasoline is used to start fires. Several people are shot pointblank, one in the head (two of them are protected by Kevlar, but we don't know that until after the violent assaults). A noose is placed around Face's neck. Later he latches onto a moving vehicle through a manhole, catching a dangerous ride. B.A. escapes a prison van by "arranging" for another vehicle to drag him away while he's sliding on a blown-off door. He also "skies" down a building, eventually falling and hitting a roof—hard. A man is thrown out of a skyscraper window, freefalling until he's caught by a parachute and a helicopter. Threatening him, Hannibal shoots just inches away from an injured man's head. A crowd is gassed. Men rough up a woman. We see close-ups of a wound or two. Murdock tries to jumpstart an ambulance with a defibrillator—and gets mightily zapped. Murdock's insane piloting knocks B.A. out of a chopper (He dangles by his fingertips). A C-130 and an SUV play chicken on a runway. Murdock intentionally sets Face's shirt on fire with a blowtorch. Electroshock therapy is shown. Hannibal regains consciousness in a crematorium vault, just as the furnace ignites. He escapes only mildly singed, but it's still an intense sequence. 6.7 out of 10. Profanity: At least 2 incomplete "f" words (both used with "mother") and 26 "s" words. Other words include at least 29 "hells," 11 "asses" (3 used with "hole," including 2 in subtitles), 7 "damns," 4 uses of "piss," 2 uses of "bitch," 1 "crap" and 1 "S.O.B." 3 middle fingers are used as well. Religious exclamations and profanities include at least: 5 uses of "Goddamn," 3 of "Jesus," 2 uses each of "God" and "Jesus Christ," and 1 use each of "For the love of God," "For God's sake," "Oh, my God" and "Swear to God." 5.9 out of 10. Substance Use: Hannibal (of course) smokes stogies. Beer and hard liquor show up whenever the team is relaxing or, at least, not directly in the line of fire. There are toasts made before and after a mission. Face reminisces about drinking cheap cabernet with Sosa and says that they were also "doing something else." The team drugs B.A. several times to get him on airplanes peacefully (he hates flying). Hannibal ingests a carefully prepared drug cocktail to make himself appear dead. Antifreeze is said to be used as marinade. 6.2 out of 10. Conclusion: "The A-Team," while not as enjoyable as its TV counterpart, is still a great action film. It has amazing visual effects, a mostly decent script and funny characters. I recommend this film and I give it 7 out of 10.
2 people found this helpful.
age 4+

Great movie!

This movie has the same amount of violence as its TV counterpart

This title has:

Too much violence

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (23 ):
Kids say (61 ):

The good news is that the cast is top-notch, and old-school fans will enjoy all the little nods to the original A-Team. They'll find everything from the catchphrases "I ain't getting on no plane" and "I love it when a plan comes together," to Hannibal's trademark cigar-smoking and Murdock's general lunacy. Jackson is no Mr. T, but he certainly looks the part and even sports "Pity" and "Fool" tattoos on his knuckles for good measure (he sadly does not say "I pity the fool," but perhaps that's for the best, considering Mr. T's negative reaction to the movie). Cooper is turning into the new Matthew McConaughey and spends a ridiculous percentage of the time shirtless (his pecs and abs deserve their own billing) and sunbathing. Neeson is a hard-sell at first, but he nails Hannibal's sense of humor and fierce loyalty to his men. The best part, though, was Copley's Murdock. The South African breakout star of District 9 brings the crazy in a hilarious, scene-stealing way. If you pay close attention, he even gets to revert to his native accent and even speak Swahili. Brilliant!

Now for the not-so-great news. This is not good enough to merit a sequel, even though it ends begging for another "episode." The plot isn't very compelling (but then again, the show always had predictable storylines); and Biel's lone female character is unnecessary eye-candy for male viewers (not that she wears anything but sensible suits; sorry guys!). Wilson and Bloom get bonus points for their amusing villains, but this is basically a two-hour excuse to see container ships, tanks, vans, and all manner of things explode -- not to mention the over-the-top stunts and gun violence that characterized the series. If you're in the mood for a high-testosterone, simple-to-follow, incredibly loud story, this is a fun and substance-less action flick. Be warned, you may not be able to stop humming the theme music for the rest of the day.

Movie Details

Inclusion information powered by

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate