Alex (Lucy Liu), Natalie (Cameron Diaz) and Dylan (Drew Barrymore) have all come from very different backgrounds to end up working for Charlie. Charlie is someone who likes to keep his identity secret therefore giving away nothing for enemies to possibly use against him. Charlie communicates with the girls who he refers to as his Angels through a speaker box controlled by Bosley (Bill Murray).
When the Angels hear of a kidnapping they are immediately put on the case by Charlie, Eric Knox head of a company of voice recognition software has been kidnapped supposedly for his software. His colleague Vivian is worried and goes to the Angels for help however when Knox is found safe and well it seems like there may have been a double cross somewhere along the line and it’s up to the Angels to solve it.
So years after the famous TV series aired and ended in the 70‘s, a film version of the iconic TV series that made the late Farrah Fawcett a star was finally released in 2000 with three superstar actresses, a great soundtrack and a funny script coupled with a sturdy storyline. This was a sure-fire hit and although it may not be everyone’s cup of tea it was indeed a massive hit upon it’s release and it only helped to excel the three leads careers even more.
After recently watching Charlie’s Angels on Channel 5 for the first time in a while it reminded me of why I had fallen it love with it when I first saw it. There’s something for everyone in this film; a gorgeous cast, gun wielding action sequences, martial arts combat fighting, and lots and lots of laughs.
I never watched the Charlie’s Angels TV show because I’m way too young
therefore I don’t know what the tone of the series was, I can only imagine that it was as cheesy and bordering on tacky as the film is however I think it works well like it is. I don’t think this film would have been half as enjoyable if it was a serious film because it would have just come off as a joke. This film isn’t afraid to poke fun of itself and achieves a very commendable effort for being an extremely extroverted, tongue-in-cheek and camp film whilst not becoming overly tacky and stupid to the point where it’s unbearable. This film knows exactly where to draw the line where so many other films these days don’t.
The acting was brilliant and another big achievement for a film of this tone, Cameron Diaz being arguably the biggest star in the cast, it’s rumoured that she receives around $20,000,000 per film these days and with her performance in this it’s not only easy to see why but it’d be crazy if they weren’t paying her a lot because she’s a fantastic comedy actress who can also make the change to being a serious actress like the flick of a light bulb. Her most recent performance in My Sister’s Keeper showcases this brilliantly. Cameron Diaz always throws herself into every role and I don’t think I’ve seen a film with her that I didn’t like completely, you always know that they’ll be something redeemable with a Cameron Diaz film. She really gets her teeth into her role as the ditsy Natalie and portrays her brilliantly, she manages to be sexy and devilish whilst remaining endearing throughout, she was my favourite of the Angels.
Prior to seeing this I thought that Drew Barrymore could have been a little miscast in a film of this genre, she’s not exactly known for her sex appeal like Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu is however the former child star does an excellent job and is a lot more charismatic than Lucy Liu. Drew Barrymore really plays to her strengths in this film, she obviously knows that there’s enough sex appeal in the film with Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu, two people who she is unable to contend with on those levels so she plays her character a different way to the other two, she pulls off the tomboy act really well and I can’t fault her performance at all. Lucy Liu was probably the weakest of the three however that is by no means an insult, I thought that all three girls on a whole did a fantastic job and it simply wouldn’t have been the same without the talents of Lucy Liu, apparently Victoria Beckham was considered for the role of Alex before it went to Lucy Liu, can you even imagine what a disaster this film would have been is Mrs Beckham had won the role. No matter how much I love her, acting isn’t her strong point (neither is singing) and after her performance in Spice World The Movie it’s impossible to see why she was even considered for the role!
This film really does have an A-List cast and it’s not just the girls that make up the top cast, Matt Le Blanc stars as Lucy Liu’s boyfriend, Tim Curry and Sam Rockwell play bad guys, Luke Wilson adorably plays Cameron Diaz’s love interest and Ll Cool J has a cameo at the beginning. For me though the best member of the supporting cast is Crispin Glover, named Creepy Thin Man by the Angels. He doesn’t say a word for the entire length of the film however manages to come across as sinister and menacing but in a very cheesy and over exaggerated way, I thought his character was fantastic, a great baddie and good to see him back in the sequel.
This film is sheer entertainment, love it or hate it you’ve probably seen it or wanted to see it at some point in your life and you should. It’s a fantastic film, it exceeded all my expectations when I saw it. I simply can’t fault it, infact the only thing that really bugged me concerning Charlie’s Angels was the Tom Green cameo as ‘The Chad’ who was only cast in the film because he was engaged to Drew Barrymore at the time.
The story was brilliant and completely fitted the tone of the movie, I can’t fault the storyline. Some could say it’s overly tacky but I think it was perfect for the movie. I do prefer the sequel in a way though. There’s a couple of good twists which you may or may not see coming, a brilliant ending which I was worried they wouldn’t be able to pull off. All the stunts are great, they simply add to the humour and are extremely outlandish, at one point Cameron Diaz runs in the air for about three seconds before kicking Creepy Thin Man. You could criticise Charlie’s Angels for stealing The Matrix’s idea however I think the film pays homage to The Matrix and doesn’t try to imitate it at all, the two films are in completely different genres.
The humour is thick and fast and although a couple of jokes fall flat the majority of it is very funny, down to the most simple things. Overall this entire film is veering on faultless, there are no major flaws in it, it’s very funny, entertaining and the action is fantastic. This is girl power at it’s best and I’d recommend it to anyone.
The DVD is currently available from play.com for £3.99.
The special features include: "Welcome to Angel World" Featurette "Angelic Attire" Featurette "Getting G'd Up" (Director McG) Featurette "The Master and the Angels" (martial arts/stunts) Featurette "Angelic Effects" (Special FX) Featurette "Wired Angels" - Chinese Alley Scene Deconstruction 3 Deleted/Extended Scenes with intro from McG outtakes Destiny's Child/Apollo 440 Music Videos Feature Length Commentary 5 Trailers Weblink Filmographies
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Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
HappilyCharlie's Angelsis a surprisingly successful TV-into-movie update of the seminal ... more
1970s jiggle show. Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore (who also produced) and Lucy Liu star as the hair-tossing, fashion-setting, kung-fu fighting trio employed by the my...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu are Charlie's Angels - a trio of elite private ... more
investigators who, with the latest in high-tech gadgets, martial arts techniques and a vest array of disguises, unleash their state-of-the-art skills on land, sea ...
HappilyCharlie's Angelsis a surprisingly successful TV-into-movie update of the seminal ... more
1970s jiggle show. Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore (who also produced) and Lucy Liu star as the hair-tossing, fashion-setting, kung-fu fighting trio employed by the my...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: Anything that has Cameron Diaz in it, wet and 'unzipped' to the waist has got to get 5 stars Disadvantages: not sure Lucy Liu was the right casting for the 3rd 'Angel'
flashpointz 27.08.2002 (27.08.2002)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Charlie's Angels (DVD)
Advantages: Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz... Disadvantages: The most stupid film ever, even worse than The Avengers, possibly as bad as Batman and Robin
![Charlie's Angels [DVD] [2000]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78545971.jpg "Charlie's Angels [DVD] [2000]")
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