I've seen a string of movies lately that I've had to
deeply consider and examine closely. That's all fine and good. I love
serious-minded movies about dour topics that make other people ask me "why
would you pay to subject yourself to that?" But I love my popcorn too. I
value a movie's ability to entertain as highly as anything, and I start itching
for that entertainment if it's been too long. Thank god Charlie's Angels
came along.
I'm afraid my examination of this movie won't get
very deep, because it is a very simple pleasure. I had a blast watching this.
It's a good time, beginning to end. I never watched the 70s TV show much. I
don't hold the McG movies very dear. They didn't hit a tone I cared for. This
latest version, directed and co-written by Elizabeth Banks, is exactly the
right tone for my tastes.
In this version, Kristen Stewart and Ella Balinska
play veteran Angels at Charlie's agency (think of the place Angelina Jolie
works at in Mr. and Mrs. Smith if you need a different reference point).
Naomi Scott plays a programmer at some fictional energy company that's about to
release some technology with a deadly application that only she knows about.
So, the Angels rescue Scott while also recruiting her to join, so they can stop
the technology from getting into the wrong hands. The story is gibberish and
everyone involved knows it. It makes only enough sense to give the movie a
spine and holds up well enough that there weren't any details that I spent half
the movie bothered by. If you can put up with the plot of Spy, then you
can put up with this.
I love this Angel team. Kristen Stewart is perfect
in this. I don't think any performer this year will have more fun playing a
role. Stewart is effortless, funny, and drew my attention whenever she was on
the screen. It honestly felt like they told her to improv each line and
"do what feels natural". Stewart is the loose cannon of the group.
Balinska is more of the enforcer. She's tall with a wiry strength and still
looks like a model. I haven't seen her in anything before this. I'm not sure
she fits for a wide array of roles, but she's perfect for this, which asks her
to convincingly throw a punch, roll her
eyes at Kristen Stewart, and deliver a few zingers of her own. Naomi Scott gets
the worst role. She's the audience surrogate character being introduced to this
world. So, she's not as comfortable as the other two and gets stuck asking a
lot of questions. She allows everyone else to have a blast though by taking all
the functional, exposition work. And, it's not like she's a drag on the movie.
She fits in well with everyone and, at worst, is a net neutral. Elizabeth Banks
steps in to play Bosely as well, and it's a reminder that Hollywood failed to
capitalize on her earlier in her career. She would've been a great Angel 20
years ago*. No one else in the cast is indispensable. Patrick Stewart, Sam
Claflin, Nat Faxon, and others all play to their strengths, but they could've
been recast without changing the movie in any significant way. That's not to
say they're bad. It's just not their movie. And it's fine, because none of them
would show up in a sequel anyway. More on that in a moment though.
*Banks is an odd case though. She's 45. She looks
35. But she's best suited to play a role of someone who is 55. It's weird
seeing her get older, because historically, she's been what Zoey Deutch is now:
someone who works best as the youngest person in a group with much older
people. I love that she's finally gotten the chance to shift into directing.
This is an action comedy, not an action movie that's
funny. Banks isn't especially skilled as an action director. No more than
someone like Paul Feig is. She's functional. The action scenes are easy to
follow and get the job done. They're strategically edited though and not very
complex. The main concern is having fun and getting laughs, which she's great
at. This compares very nicely to Pitch Perfect 2, which Banks also
directed: disposable but entertaining. I was never bored by the movie because
everyone on screen was having too much fun.
This movie fell way under expectations at the box
office opening weekend. There probably won't be a sequel, and that sucks. I
sure hope this doesn't get spun as some sort of rejection of female-led action
comedies. This movie does maybe push the "girl power" angle a little
hard but not in a way I found distracting. With any luck, this will have a long
tail, like Pitch Perfect did, because I'd love a chance to go on another
adventure with these characters.
Verdict: Strongly Recommend
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