Movie Review: Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
By Purple
Director McG has moved into his own candy store with "Charlie's Angels Full Throttle", his second pass at translating one of the landmarks of 1970's Television into the big screen. Raised on the tube in the 70's and tuned into MTV in the 80's, McG transformed his eye for making music videos in the 90's into feature length confections that hits a sweet spot for the 21st century.
After the success of the first "Angels" movie, the studios let the production team loose and they come through with a state of the art smorgasbord of modern day special effects. If you thought the latest bullet camera clips from the latest "Matrix" were cool, wait until you see what they do for these three sexy super heroes. This movie shakes and moves at a relentless pace and plays like a feature length music video. The blaring rock and rolls greatest hits soundtrack provides a beat for the quick cut editing style, which crams in every fun idea the production crew had while making the movie.
This "Angels" sequel is a celluloid postcard from LA. It manages to weave the plot around numerous SoCal landmarks from the restored Hollywood and Vine to Griffith Park Observatory; tinsel town has never looked better. Adding to the sparkle is a cast that's filled to the brim with enough stars and celebrity cameos that you'll need a constellation map to keep track of them all.
The cheeky smiles shared by Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu carries the up beat tempo in every frame. Luke Wilson and Matt LeBlanc return as some of the Angels chumpy boyfriends and Crispin Glover pops in as the mute Thin Man and steals the show with a surprise scene that will leave you squealing. Bernie Mac takes over from Bill Murray as the bumbling Bosley character, and introduces us to the idea that the entire Angels cast is interchangeable, ensuring this series will go on long after the stars contracts expire.
"Charlie's Angels Full Throttle" is crazy and absurd at times, but who cares? It's a juiced up thrill ride that delivers some of the best action sequences of the summer so far. Without the heavy handed nature of most macho tough guy films, the "Angels" series spins explosive violence into a laugh out loud love fest that keeps it light and airy all the way.
For Movie Magazine, this is Purple.
After the success of the first "Angels" movie, the studios let the production team loose and they come through with a state of the art smorgasbord of modern day special effects. If you thought the latest bullet camera clips from the latest "Matrix" were cool, wait until you see what they do for these three sexy super heroes. This movie shakes and moves at a relentless pace and plays like a feature length music video. The blaring rock and rolls greatest hits soundtrack provides a beat for the quick cut editing style, which crams in every fun idea the production crew had while making the movie.
This "Angels" sequel is a celluloid postcard from LA. It manages to weave the plot around numerous SoCal landmarks from the restored Hollywood and Vine to Griffith Park Observatory; tinsel town has never looked better. Adding to the sparkle is a cast that's filled to the brim with enough stars and celebrity cameos that you'll need a constellation map to keep track of them all.
The cheeky smiles shared by Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu carries the up beat tempo in every frame. Luke Wilson and Matt LeBlanc return as some of the Angels chumpy boyfriends and Crispin Glover pops in as the mute Thin Man and steals the show with a surprise scene that will leave you squealing. Bernie Mac takes over from Bill Murray as the bumbling Bosley character, and introduces us to the idea that the entire Angels cast is interchangeable, ensuring this series will go on long after the stars contracts expire.
"Charlie's Angels Full Throttle" is crazy and absurd at times, but who cares? It's a juiced up thrill ride that delivers some of the best action sequences of the summer so far. Without the heavy handed nature of most macho tough guy films, the "Angels" series spins explosive violence into a laugh out loud love fest that keeps it light and airy all the way.
For Movie Magazine, this is Purple.
© 2003 - Purple - Air Date: 6/25/03
More Information:
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
USA - 2003
