The A-Team

In 2010, a crack paternal unit was sent to the kitchen for a crime they didn't commit. They promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade (or at least their beloved wives and kids) to the Cineworld underground and tonight, these four Dads who make up The D-Team actually made it to the cinema as a foursome for the first time ever. As the planner of this ambitious escape attempt I naturally see myself as Hannibal (I would have gone for Murdock but, in a perfect 'Howling Mad' combo of craziness and flying, Nick took that role when he fell down some steps on the way out).

Being of a 'certain age', there was always a pretty good chance that the four of us would enjoy this film. We're old-skool. We were there for the original series at 5pm every Saturday during the 80s - to see pretty much the same story each time and always the same army jeep getting flipped over as stuntmen leapt out in slo-mo waggling their arms for all they were worth. I can still remember the toys I had too. Face's Corvette and a random HQ set with loads of stupid oil drums and hay bales that got lost.

So was this new movie version any good? Yes. It was bloody great fun. All four of us were grinning and laughing the whole way through. This is not a film that takes itself seriously. They've taken most of the basic elements from the old show and bolted them onto the usual prove-your-innocence storyline with a modern day setting. Oh and loads and loads of ridiculously over the top action scenes (with some impressively 'weighty' special effects) which are completely stupid but gloriously entertaining. It's a bit like a blokey version of 'Charlie's Angels' sometimes. Bradley Cooper as Face definitely gets the Cameron Diaz role - his tanning obsession being the perfect excuse for him to get his shirt off in several scenes. He doesn't wiggle about in a small pair of Spider-Man pants though. Which is probably just as well.

The cast do a great job of filling some very iconic shoes and there seems to be a genuine camaraderie between them which comes across really well. I didn't find myself pining for the original team at all (apparently Dirk Benedict and Dwight Schultz have cameos in this but I didn't see them). And despite his dodgy dyed white hair do, my man-crush on Liam Neeson is still intact. Don't tell the rest of The D-Team though or I'll get kicked out and be forced to watch Sandra Bullock rom-coms with The M-Team.