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The A-Team
Movie

The A-Team

2010 • Action, Adventure, Crime

Woke Score
2
out of 10

Plot

Four American soldiers who are in Iraq are sent on a mission to recover plates for printing 100 dollar bills that were used to print a billion dollars. After doing the job and returning to the base their commanding officer is killed in an explosion and the plates are stolen by another operative. They would be court martialed and sent to different prisons. 6 months later, the leader, Hannibal Smith is visited by a CIA spook who tells him he knows where the man who took the plates is and wants him and his men to recover it. So he helps him escape and he breaks out the others and they go after the plates. But after doing it, they discover that the spook might not be ok. And a military intelligence officer who was involved with one of them is pursuing them.

Overall Series Review

The A-Team (2010) is an over-the-top action film centered on the competence and camaraderie of four male Special Forces soldiers. The core plot revolves around an internal betrayal within the US military and CIA, compelling the team to operate as renegades to clear their names and uphold their honor. The movie is fundamentally a 'boys-own adventure' that prioritizes outrageous action and the group's legendary ability to execute impossible plans. The narrative is not concerned with social or political lectures. Its cultural sensibilities are more aligned with pre-2010 action cinema, focusing on spectacle, male relationships, and a heterosexual, often objectifying, lens on female characters. The conflict is with corrupt individuals inside the system, not the wholesale condemnation of the system or American culture itself.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics2/10

The narrative focuses entirely on the meritocracy of a highly skilled military team, with each member's defining trait being their competence and specialty. The casting maintains the racial diversity of the source material without injecting lectures on privilege or systemic oppression. The villains are individual corrupt officials, not a stand-in for 'whiteness' or immutable characteristics.

Oikophobia3/10

The heroes are American Special Forces soldiers who operate out of loyalty to their country's stated ideals, fighting against treason and corruption within the US government and military hierarchy. This is a critique of corrupt individuals, not a broad demonization of Western civilization, ancestors, or home culture. The film is characterized by a pro-America tone in its dialogue and focus on US military characters.

Feminism2/10

The main female character, Captain Carissa Sosa, is a competent military intelligence officer, which gives her a high-level position. However, the film is noted for its 'relentless chauvinism' and objectification of women, including referring to nearly every female character as 'hot'. The gender dynamics are traditional and centered on the male heroes, with the 'Face' character engaging in heterosexual escapades, which directly counters a modern feminist 'Girl Boss' or anti-natalist message.

LGBTQ+1/10

The movie contains no discernible content related to centering alternative sexualities, deconstructing the nuclear family, or gender ideology. The framework is entirely heterosexual, focusing on the male team members and their relationships with women.

Anti-Theism2/10

The narrative's morality is action-movie subjective, concerning justice outside the law, but it does not frame traditional religion as evil. A throwaway line has a villain make a reference to being a 'bad Catholic', which is a minor instance of linking religion and immorality, but the film is not a polemic against faith. The conflict is secular and driven by greed and betrayal.