Charlie's Angels (2000)

This film is wildly 1990s hip and very of it's time, which is probably indicatives of how vapid the late 90s were, lacking in a clear identity of it's own, instead relying on retro nostalgia. Sure there was grunge, "Friends," and the Spice Girls, but those were really all just throwback as well and I'm not sure that's much of a cultural identity. But enough about 1990s being a cultural wasteland when compared to the 60s, 70s, or 80s. As vapid and lightweight of a film as "Charlie's Angels" is, it's also a whole lot of fun. Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu play the super spy/detective angels, with the help of Bosley, a always great Bill Murray, have to foil a plot to steal software or something. The plot here really doesn't matter because the film is basically a series of barely connected but funny scenes/vignettes consisting of comedy, sexiness, or well done fight sequences (choreographed by Cheung-Yan Yuen, the fight choreographer from my favorite Jet Li movie "Fist of Legend"). The fun does feel forced at times, but it's an extremely likable cast, which include a ton of familiar faces in supporting roles (Sam Rockwell, Tim Curry, LL Cool J, Luke Wilson, Matt LeBlanc, and Tom Green (there's a 90s wasteland figure I'd forgotten about!). Crispin Glover is the biggest standout of the supporting cast as the deadly mute assassin know as "Thin Man" who dresses like he's stepped off the set of "The Avengers." Overall, "Charlie's Angels" is the epitome of fluff, but it's enjoyable fluff and not all that dissimilar from a 1960s Flint or Matt Helm movie.

Based on the '70s TV show of the same name this film follows the adventures of three beautiful secret agents; Natalie, Dylan and Alex. They work for a mysterious man, who they have never met, called Charlie who gives them their instructions over the telephone when he calls his assistant John Bosley. After a prologue which sees the Angels deal with a bomber on a plane the story proper begins. There assignment is to rescue Eric Knox, a kidnapped software engineer, and retrieve the state of the art voice recognition program he created. Chief suspect is Roger Corwin; the head of a rival company whose communications satellites could spy on anybody if combined with Knox's program. They manage to rescue Knox and break into Corwin's company only to learn that things aren't as they seem. They are soon in great danger as is the secretive Charlie.If you are looking for something vaguely believable then this isn't the film for you; it is cheesy and everybody involved is clearly aware of that. If you want to spend an hour and a half watching brain-in-neutral silliness you could do a lot worse. The story is pretty solid; it is just the execution that is deliberately silly. Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu are a lot of fun as Dylan, Natalie and Alex respectively and Bill Murray is on good form as Bosley. There is a good amount of action, nothing too violent but exciting enough. The special effects aren't very special but that isn't too much of a problem given that it isn't meant to be taken seriously… even the plane in the opening shot doesn't look real giving us a hint that what follows will be silly or just poor… I'm sure plenty of people will find it poor but I rather enjoyed it. Overall good silly fun if you are in the right mood.

Charlie's Angels is an excellent modernization of the old TV series.The good. Beautiful sexy women. Lots of action, fights and wirework. Nice car chases and wrecks. Good funny dialogs. Interesting story. Great score and music.The actors. Cameron Diaz is at her most adorable and charming in a very innocent and clueless way. She's just perfect. Drew Barrymore is obviously living a dream job, and it shows she's having fun. Lucy Liu is more impish than we've ever seen her before, in a very serious manner, which is a strange combination. There's no denying it, all three angels had a blast doing this flick and gave us a excellent performance. Bill Murray is very funny, and a great complement to the girls. Crispin Glover is the star of the villains, we just can't get enough of him. Sam Rockwell over does it a bit, but nicely. Finally, I'll just mention some other good performance in decreasing order of magnitude: Luke Wilson, Kelly Lynch, Tim Curry, Matt LeBlanc, and LL Cool J.The bad. Very simple villain. More over, his awkwardly social cover is creepy.The ugly. The mainframe. If you know anything about computer, and security, this is very lame.The result. Excellent entertainment with fun and action.

Is it a crass rehash of an old TV series that wasn't that great to begin with? Or is it a clever distillation of 1970s entertainment spruced up with a welcome blend of comedy and flash style? I can't really decide, but "Charlie's Angels" manages to earn its wings, if not a halo.Sorry. Be warned, though, there are a lot of bad puns in this movie. "Charlie's Angels" never makes the mistake of taking itself too seriously, and if you don't either, you can have a bit of fun.The set-up is instantly familiar for those of us old enough to remember the ABC-TV series. Three beautiful young women work as private detectives for a mysterious millionaire, who gives them impossible assignments they carry out with ease. The latest job involves a computer tycoon named Knox who is kidnapped, apparently by a rival. The Angels set out to save him, then find out the case is more complicated than it appears.That's not really important, though. The big question: Which Angel does the best hair flip? I have to say its Lucy Liu, though Cameron Diaz's short hair doesn't give her much to work with and Drew Barrymore's Angel with attitude isn't really flipping her hair unless she's in a fight, which kind of buries that bit of business for her. Not much else distracts from the hotitude of the stars, suggesting that the trainers on set were Oscar-worthy even if the cast wasn't.The script is kind of weak, not that the show itself ever was "St. Elsewhere." Caught wearing only a bedsheet in a guy's apartment, Barrymore's character is asked if she's "working undercover."More funny are the exaggerated references to how deadly these pretty ladies really are. "They come on all lovey-dovey, until they find out I can shatter a cinderblock with my forehead," sighs Liu. Here at least the comedy works as a kind of running gag worth pursuing.This silliness is abetted by Bill Murray as Bosley, the Angels' major domo, working his comedy mojo in a lazy but effective way, describing a jail as looking like "Cher's bedroom." Diaz has the most fun with her part, as Natalie the klutzy cutie, showing off a wonderful body as well as some fine comic chops left over from "There's Something About Mary." Whatever happened to her, anyway? I also really like Crispin Glover, as a bad guy who never says a word but steals every scene he's in with creepy gusto. Too bad the film never seems to know what to do with him, though at least he's not wasted like Tim Curry is here.For the most part, director McG and his writing team just use the story as an excuse for action scenes that are often impressive but don't make sense or connect up with anything else. These Angels are hard to distinguish from bad guys, as they crash cars, depressurize airliner cabins, and generally wreak all kinds of havoc on unsuspecting civilians. You aren't supposed to wonder about all this because, well, it's that kind of film.And that's fine, when the film does as much as this one to keep you diverted. That's all you get here, and all you really need. I mean, if you are going to watch a film called "Charlie's Angels," you shouldn't expect tight plotting and stuff. Just sit back and enjoy the ride. I did.