Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

6/28/03 - Review

The Angels are back for a second ride.  Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu reprise their roles as Dylan, Natalie, and Alex as the high profile girl team for their employer Charlie.  Also along for the ride is newcomer Bernie Mac who plays the character of Bosley. 

When two titanium rings that hold the identities of every person in the Federal Witness Protection Program become stolen, the Angels are called into action.  The rings could be used to expose the program and put many lives in danger.  The threat of the information being sold to several of the bigger crime syndicates grows increasingly by the day. 

Soon thereafter, some of the witnesses turn up dead mysteriously.  After the Angels team up to prevent another murder of a Federal Witness from occurring they start to put the pieces together.  It points to an Irishman named Seamus O’Grady who Dylan busted eight years earlier.  Apparently Dylan is in the Witness Protection Program and the Angels are worried that he will try and come after Dylan as well as the rest of them.

Once they make contact with O’Grady, the Angels discover that the operation is far wider and deeper than they ever thought.  The adventure takes them in the direction of a “fallen Angel” and even possibly Federal involvement.  The Angels also meet up with their nemesis from the first movie, “Thin Man.”  In the end, Dylan must confront her past with O’Grady because Alex and Natalie are also both in danger because of it.  The Angels and Bosley must work fast to solve the case. 

After watching this movie, I have to say that the Angels are immortal.  I only say that because of all the death defying stunts they pulled off as well as the nail biting confrontations that they somehow managed to escape from.  All of the action sequences are so far over the top it’s insane.  It’s almost funny.  I can count at least five times where all three of them should have died but that’s Hollywood. Xander Cage and James Bond would be proud.

The story is so simple that a five year old could understand it.  If you have seen the trailer then you know what the deal is.  They just fill the beginning and endings with style over substance to move the story.  At times I thought I was watching a music video or a dance number because ever scene is started off with some hit song from the ‘80’s or the ‘90’s.   There are actually three dance scenes and at least twenty different songs playing in the background.

The movie is very fast paced, especially the first half.  For the first 45 minutes or so the movie does not let up for one second to explain anything in detail.  We move from one location to another in a blink of an eye.  The second half slows down a bit and kind of drags on after the Angels complete their mission.  It’s okay though because the Angel’s superhuman tricks liven up the screen.  There are some funny innuendos that make for a good laugh. 

All three Angel’s characters were good.  Demi Moore still can’t act but she did look good, especially for being gone for several years.  Bernie Mac plays a better Bosley than Bill Murray ever could.  His scenes were very comedic and entertaining.  There are a bunch of cameo appearances such as Bruce Willis, Jeremy McGrath, Pink, Owen Wilson, and a special guest for the long time fans of the show. 

The movie pays homage to at least a half dozen films including Cape Fear, The Fast and the Furious, Singing in the Rain, Mission Impossible 2, James Bond, and The Shining.  There are even those fancy Matrix-style moves that were also seen in the first flick. 

This sequel is below the overall quality of the 2000 original, but it does succeed on making it less believable.  At least some of the stuff in the first one could have happened.  Full Throttle is definitely a movie to catch on HBO.  Unless you want to pay seven bucks to see a funny (in a bad way), campy, over the top, music video, you probably want to avoid it.  A better thing yet would be to watch the original again because it’s better.

Grade

What do you think?