Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle DVD > Reviews > Too Full, not enough Throttle.

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Very ordinary
Characters / Performances	Good
Special Effects	Good
Soundtrack	Outstanding

Advantages:	Sexy girls, good effects
Disadvantages:	Lack of plot, any opportunity for an explosion is grabbed

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

"This is hostal, ja?"
So speaks bootylicious butt-kicking angel Cameron Diaz as she opens the door of a somewhat dubious Japanese gentlemen's club. Everyone stares at her for a minute, then they all laugh and let her have a go on their bucking bronco.
At the same time, Drew Barrymore has a drinking competition with some of the said gentlemen, while Lucy Lui smoothly flips out of a wooden box to save some Very Important politician who is about to be murdered.
Then the three angels steal some Very Important software which is kept on two rings - something to do with a witness protection scheme - and bust out of the club, between them and an injured politician they manage to escape and kick the cr*p outta a couple dozen dodgy guys running at them.
They crash through the window in true angel style, landing perfectly on their six-inch heels with little more than a hair out of place.

And that is how Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle starts. From that piece you can basically gather everything you need to know about the rest of the film: Diaz is the kooky, fun-loving one, Barrymore is tough tomboy, and Lui is the stylish classy flexible one, the plot doesn't matter at all, the angels always win, with ne'er even smudging their lipstick, and they do all of this in ridiculous heels.

Full Throttle is an appropriate name. Everything about the film is done to the max - the numerous explosions, the action set-pieces, the exaggerated villains, the girls' outfits, the gadgets, the sexy dance sequences, the "token black guy" - Bernie Mac's Bosley. It's overblown, overexcited, and slightly overrated.

There are some great parts to Charlie's Angels. One scene in particular where they fight some Irish cons in a warehouse to Prodigy's Firestarter is excellent, if a little implausible. As usual, the girls stay looking flawlessly made-up and clothed all the way through, even when they set the whole place on fire. However, it is one of the highlights of the film and if you don't think too hard about the stupidity of it, it is great entertainment.
The girls are really gorgeous and all charismatic enough to easily carry the movie. My personal favourite is Lucy Lui, just because she's probably the coolest - Diaz is the funniest, Barrymore is the toughest, but Lui is the classiest, the coolest, the sleekest. She looks stunning and always keeps her cool. If you focus solely on what the angels are going, and what they look like, you can almost forget the flaws.

Unfortunately, there are so MANY flaws! The plot, as I mentioned before, is really weak. Several things pop up seemingly randomly just to make it a bit funnier - Diaz and bemused cutie Luke Wilson's dancing part is overplayed - and there are so many implausible plot twists that you are left thinking 'what the HELL just happened?' or smirking condescendingly.
There is a part where the seemingly immortal trio are given bullet-proof vests to wear underneath their clothes - their clothes being miniscule vests and tight t-shirts. I don't think so!
Some of the acting, too, isn't as good as it should be with such an established cast. Demi Moore looks younger than her 40 years with the help from £400,000 plasic surgery, but she is wooden as fallen angel Madison Lee, falling into all the cliches - 'Why be an angel when you can play god?'
And Matt le Blanc is and always will be Joey from friends.

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, although being a testament that bigger isn't always better, is pure shallow popcorn fun. If you close your eyes to the farfetched plot and the stupidity of the whole thing, and let the great soundtrack, excellent action pieces and abundant eye-candy take you, you might have a pretty good couple of hours.