Reviewed by Victor Rebikoff.
Director: McG, Columbia Pictures, PG 94 Minutes.
This motion picture adaptation of the popular TV series of the seventies from director McG (‘Terminator Salvation’) is a delightful action crime drama featuring three feisty female private detectives-Dylan (Drew Barrymore – ‘Duplex’), Natalie (Cameron Diaz – ‘Vanilla Sky’) and Alex (Lucy Liu – ‘Cypher’).
Similar to the series the three women are an enthusiastic trio and work for an unseen millionaire named Charlie (voiced by John Forsythe-reprising again his TV role) and ably aided by Bosley (Bill Murray – ‘Lost in Translation’) Charlie’s assistant.
The movie opens with Bosley summoning the trio on their new assignment following a visit by a client, Vivian Wood (Kelly Lynch – ‘The Visitation’) seeking the Agency’s help in finding kidnapped boss Eric (Sam Rockwell – ‘Heist’) head of Knox Electronics.
They soon discover that the main suspect is Eric’s major competitor in the field the calculating Roger Corwin (Tim Curry – ‘Ritual’) and in addition to rescuing him they must also retrieve the stolen voice-recognition software concealed in a secret vault.
It then becomes a race against time as the Angels use their range of assets including their ‘Matrix’ style martial arts in tracking down Corwin just as a secret is revealed which later makes them targets for assassination.
After overcoming many obstacles the Angels eventually have to contend with the fact of their home base being destroyed but have at least made sure the life of their boss Charlie is no longer in danger.
In some respects McG has mostly refreshed his Charlie’s Angels onto the big screen revolutionising his action-packed rendition into a visually enjoyable and entertaining experience by using many of the gimmicks seen in earlier TV episodes.
The original Angels included Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Jaclyn Smith in the 1976-81 TV series while McG has chosen three exciting new actresses in Barrymore, Diaz and Liu –particularly the dynamic Diaz including the talented Murray and Curry.
Since McG’s release in 2000 there has been a reboot in 2019 with Elizabeth Bank’s production featuring three new Angels-Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska a movie considered as enjoyable as that released nearly nineteen years earlier.
Charlie’s Angels is being televised on Channel 7 flix at 7.00pm on Saturday 3 October.
Vic’s Verdict: 3 Stars
