Elizabeth Banks is now the keeper of the Charlie’s Angels flame, after taking the torch from Drew Barrymore, who served as the producer and star of the 2000 television screen. Barrymore was integral in bringing the mid-70s to early 80s so-called “jiggle TV” juggernaut to the silver screen in a well-received first endeavor and a not-as-well received sequel, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. Banks takes what Barrymore did and ups the ante a notch.
Not only is Banks the director, producer and star, but she also penned the screenplay, further cementing her breadth of talent. The question that immediately arose when Charlie’s Angels from Elizabeth Banks was announced was 1) Did anyone really ask for another new Charlie’s Angels and 2) If you are going to revisit a now 40-year-old property, what can be added to firmly cement its place in today’s landscape. The answer to the first inquiry is an absolute no, and this is coming from a fan of the series from the get-go. But, the reply to the second question is answered by what Banks and her filmmaking team achieved. In short: A whole lot.
There is more diversity here than in previous incarnations, and that is just the tip of the iceberg. Naomi Scott (fresh from her career announcement that was Aladdin) is Elena Houghlin, Ella Balinska is Jane Kano and bisexual thespian sensation Kristen Stewart is the fun-loving Sabina Wilson. Then there’s the fact that the iconic character of Bosley is inhabited by Banks, the first time it was a woman after being portrayed by David Boyle in the TV smash, Bill Murray in Charlie’s Angels (2000) and the late great Bernie Mack in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. That’s a good number of firsts, and there’s more in that realm, but you won’t hear it here because some of these endeavors drift into spoiler territory.
One though, that was such a welcomed change from the previous editions is Charlie’s Angels has truly gone global. Much of the film takes place in Europe and it’s fantastic to get these ladies out of the United States and into Europe. There’s some seriously lush locales and Banks and cinematographer Bill Pope had a ball wielding their cameras at some of the most jaw-dropping sights and sounds of the “Old World” for those much-needed establishment shots.
After a James Bondian opening, you know—an immediate pulse increaser action sequence that not only introduces us to our characters, but also lays that first thread to something that we all know will weave throughout the film. We meet Wilson and Jane doing their thing with an international mark. This guy is rotten, what with the whole stealing from charities thing that drives his business model. Fast forward a year, and Banks introduces us to Scott’s Elena Houghlin—a whip smart computer and tech talent who works for Brock Corporation (named for and run by Sam Claflin of The Hunger Games fame). She has help create some sort of geometric device that can advance our power generation in exponentially beneficial ways. It’s cheap. Everyone can own one and it doesn’t leave a single carbon footprint on our ailing planet. Houghlin knows there’s a flaw, but her idiotic boss Peter Fleming (the always awkwardly amusing) Nat Faxon, repeatedly ignores it—stating that production must move forward.
Desperate, Houghlin turns to the Townsend Agency and her life will never be the same. That flaw in the device, will kill people and could be weaponized.
Within moments of meeting Wilson and Kano, our potential whistleblower is caught up in some death defying chases, close calls and enough adrenaline pumping moments that would send most people nervously shaking home. Not Houghlin, she’s in… all in.
The plot itself requires a whole lot of suspension of disbelief, but then again, do we go to see a Charlie’s Angels movie for the well laid out prose? No, we do not. But it is just enough to keep our interest in the goings-on and then the true joy rears its head and it involves our talented trio kicking butt in every possible way imaginable. A fantastic way of not only drawing in your audience but keeping it fresh throughout is to have Houghlin serve as our eyes and ears throughout the film. This is all new to her and especially because this is a remake of a cinematic reboot of a television show, a fresh perspective on what makes Charlie’s Angels so magical was a stroke of genius by Banks with her script.
Casting could not have gone better. There is a true chemistry that is electrically palpable between the main three and toss in Banks as their Bosley, and there are fireworks popping off, even without that pulse-pounding action scenes. Cannot stress enough how important the connection between these three women is to the overall success or failure of an Angels effort. Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu had it in spades. Cheryl Ladd, Jacklyn Smith, Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson possessed it so much so that the show ran for numerous seasons.
Scott plays intelligent/over her head effortlessly and as that way into this world through her introduction, she commands it. She owns it and not only that, but it is easy to see how by the end of this entire thing, Houghlin could easily be seen as an equal member of this highly trained and supremely intelligent group. Balinska plays a former MI6 agent and is given a backstory that shows her character with the uttering of merely a few words. That’s some major exposition building that doesn’t drag an action movie’s forward momentum at all. Other producers/screenwriters out there … take note.
Then, there’s Stewart. She steals the entire movie. It is an absolute gift to watch her saunter in through death-defying sequences after another, all with a smile on her face and serving as the humor inducer. Who knew? Her astute efforts at launching the comic undertones throughout Charlie’s Angels is divinely delightful. As we saw in Snow White and the Huntsman, Stewart is quite adept at the action demands on a character. What she does in Angels is truly special in establishing herself as a true-blue action heroine. So, if you’re keeping track, the woman who we first met in Panic Room and then became a pop culture sensation with Twilight and its sequels, has two fresh milieu avenues for her to triumph at going forward—action and comedy. She is simultaneously a breath of fresh air and someone who could knock that fresh air right out of you.
There was a sense in the Barrymore produced Angels that they were literally bringing it in to the new millennium. Even though it was revolutionary in the 70s that three women could hold their own against a bevy of baddies, it still stopped short of pushing the envelope. At the end of the day, they were still answering to the guy behind the speaker, his benefactor and everyone’s boss, Charlie. Barrymore made the Angles a more involved partner in the crime solving business, but Banks blows the entire thing wide open. Sabina, Elena and Jane are equal parts of the equation. One even gets the sense that if their voices weren’t heard, that all hell would break loose. It’s a subtle, but impressive update and that is merely the beginning of this post #MeToo world that Banks has her ladies reside. Right off the bat in that opening scene, Stewart utters a terrific line that lays it all out there. Something about being beautiful as a woman and how that gets you at least a few extra seconds before someone (even someone who is brilliant) realizes that this gorgeous woman in front of them isn’t working them like the equipment at a gym.
Another component of Banks’ work as director that must be lauded is her command of employing a wide spectrum of vibrant visuals to inject tone into a scene. It also is no easy thing to helm an action vehicle. The supremely gifted actress firmly has a command on that aspect of her filmmaking game. All those sequences are pitch perfect (pun intended to salute the franchise that gave her that first opportunity at directing!). As an actress, it is not a surprise that she finds that right balance with each of her actresses and actors to inspire while simultaneously letting them fly free to find their fully rich, three-dimensional characters.
The supporting ensemble is solid as well, led by the great Sir Patrick Stewart. His involvement in this whole thing … well, that you’ll just have to witness Charlie’s Angels because the breadth of what he brings to the plot table is immense. Also enjoyable was Djimon Hounsou (in a similar role as Stewart) and Claflin. One can never tell which side of the ethical coin the latter falls on and that deserves some serious props for the Hunger Games grad.
As previously mentioned, do not head into this flick expecting dialogue to rival the rest of the films that inhabit the multiplexes this time of year (i.e. awards season). Also, don’t try to keep too close of an attentive nature to the nitty gritty of the actual plot. There are holes and things that just don’t add up upon looking at Charlie’s Angels in the rear view. Then again, that is not at all why folks line up to see Angles flexing their wings. After all, the television version embraced that “jiggle TV” aspect. Charlie’s Angels 2019 ditches the women as objects aspect of the original television show, but at the same time, it is the beautiful people battling other beautiful people with the backdrop of beautiful locales that put those folks in the seats.
Good job, Angels.
Grade: B