Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (June 26/03)

If you saw the original Charlie's Angels, you should have a fairly good idea of what to expect from this sequel. Director McG and his three stars have crafted a film that's remarkably close to the first one - meaning it's got the same sort of cartoonishly over-the-top style and relentless pacing that made the original such a big hit.

The movie opens with with the Angels - Dylan (Drew Barrymore), Natalie (Cameron Diaz), and Alex (Lucy Liu) - working to rescue a top-level military man (played by Robert Patrick) who's been kidnapped by an unknown assailant. After successfully completing their mission, they head back to base - where Bosley (played by Bernie Mac, rather than Bill Murray, this time around) informs them of their latest job. Seems someone has discovered the identities of various folks in the witness protection program, and it's up to the Angels to ensure their safety.

It's interesting that all the promotional materials for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle have divulged Demi Moore's presence as the villain, since her true intentions aren't revealed until the last twenty minutes. Moore's screen time is so limited, the role is almost a cameo - but the film is peppered with enough other celebrity cameos to keep things interesting. That's actually a cunning strategy on the part of McG; by infusing the movie with celebs a-plenty, we're distracted from the fact that there isn't a whole lot of story here. With appearances from folks like Bruce Willis, Robert Forster, and Pink, there seems to be a familiar face here for everyone.

Of course, a big part of the original's success was McG's insanely kinetic and almost mind-numbing sense of direction. That's certainly true here as well, with McG's overcranked sense of style keeping things moving at a pace that's beyond brisk. He's clearly not going for any kind of realistic vibe here, as evidenced by an early sequence featuring a Matrix-type firefight on motorcycles. But for what the movie promises - relentless action and plenty of ogling opportunities - McG delivers. He even throws in a little character development for the Angels - Dylan's shady past, Alex's relationship with her father, etc - but this is also the one area he winds up going somewhat overboard. Specifically, the treatment of Moore's character, Madison; McG makes the almost fatal mistake of presenting the character in a serious light. Perhaps Moore insisted upon it, but watching her actually act in the midst of all this silly bubblegum action is incredibly jarring.

And as for her much-ballyhooed return to mainstream films, Moore is adept in the role but (as mentioned above) seems to think she's in an altogether different movie. Barrymore and Diaz are appropriately bubbly, but as was the case in the original, Liu seems slightly out of place amongst the giggling shenanigans. But the supporting cast elevates the movie to more than just a completely disposable piece of entertainment, with relative newcomer Justin Theroux a welcome surprise. Playing an evil figure from Dylan's past, Theroux has a real presence about him and does a nice job of turning this one-dimensional character into someone the audience can hate (but what's with the constant references to Cape Fear? Note to McG: it's probably not a good idea to evoke far better movies when crafting such a silly piece of fluff). Reprising his role as The Thin Man, Crispin Glover is a lot of fun and we even learn a bit about his past (hint: it involves nuns and a hair fetish).

Like the original, you really have to know what you're getting into when you head off to see Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. With the right mindset, though, it's probably one of the most mindlessly enjoyable movies to crop up so far this summer.