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Sequels
are notoriously sitting ducks for criticism from a creative
standpoint, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle does little to
dissuade this. It
takes more thought and effort to find things wrong with than it
did to actually come up with and execute the plot.
The holes are glaring, the faults are rather obvious, but
still you have to look at the intent of the filmmakers and realize
that it is probably exactly what they wanted it to be; a high
octane, escapist testosterone fest filled with gratuitous
sexuality, unrealistic actions and entendre laden humor, both
visual and verbal. Anyone
expecting anything more than that wandered into the wrong theater.
On that level, the it succeeds, but if you look read too much into
it, or think too much about it, there really isn’t much to the
film.
Originality
is not something normally sought out in summer films, but even a
hint of it would have been nice here.
The foundation of the plot was blatantly stolen from the
second Mission Impossible movie (which I now think was
intentional because of the references and not so subtle
suggestions to that film).
Apparently there are two rings in existence that when put
together, reveal the identities and locations of everyone in the
witness protection program. Why
is it that secrets and such in movies like this always have some
simplistic solution, or incredibly fallable weak spot?
Anyhow, through an interesting link, the Angels are put on
the case once the rings are stolen and organized crime families
become involved in the retrieval and possession of these rings (called
HALO, of course). Throw
in side stories involving Bosley who has somehow changed colors,
Lucy Liu’s father, a rogue ex-Angel and the baffling, pointless
reappearance of the Thin Man, and you basically have this
kaleidoscopic story. The
facts are patchwork and scattershot, often losing focus amidst the
convolution of side stories and double entendres, certain aspects
are unnecessarily given too much relevance while others are
skipped over after teasing with potential.
It may seem unfair to criticize these things, but then are
as blatant and omnipresent as this, it’s hard to ignore them. The nature of the first film is there, but the cohesive
nature and flow was lost amidst the attempt to show how smart and
hip the writers can be. There
are just enough quips, action sequences and male catered fantasy
action scenes though to keep this from being a complete waste of
time though.
Also
saving things a bit is the casting of Bernie Mac as Bosley (apparently
the original Bosley was adopted into an African American family)
who gives a comic adrenaline shot and plays perfectly off the
Angels.
“Y’all
are fine, but you’re crazy”
I
still agree that they probably could not have cast the three
Angels any better. They
are beautiful, athletic, have sense of humor but most of all,
establish their own identities which is a necessary aspect for
this film to have any chance of working.
Moore falters in her villainess role, only because she’s
done it before, and done it better. It doesn’t even seem like she is really trying here, which
is sad because her role is a juicy and vital one and could have
made things so much better if she had put her bitchy heart into
it. Finally, the cameos are once again a pleasant respite when
the plot becomes too much. Mary-Kate
and Ashley as replacement Angels, a nearly unrecognizable and
unspectacular (some would say intentionally understated) Bruce
Willis, as well as classic Angel Jaclyn Smith show that someone was
focused at some point on parts of the story ideas from the first
film that worked. I
just wish that they had gotten the ADD under control more before
submitting this for perusal.
Ultimately,
Full Throttle is a very loud, very fast; campy ride through sequel
land that may leave your brain empty of purpose, but will
definitely never bore. The
nature of sequels has always boiled down to intention versus
execution. The
original was fun, full of life, camp and humor that executed just
the right balance of each to work. .
With this sequel, the intention should have then been to
expand on that fun by adding more cultural references with a
simple, relevant plot and carry on the spirit of the first film.
Unfortunately, by trying to add too many ideas in (another
crowded writers meeting I’m sure where someone was afraid to say
no, so they just included everything) they have complicated things
to the point of confusion and lost some of the steam from the
first film. Full
Throttle is enjoyable eye candy, but doesn’t quite leave as
sweet of a taste.
Agree?
Disagree, Questions? Comments?
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