Reviews for 'Charlie's Angels'

I attended a noon show today (Saturday) and agree with all of the points that you mentioned Ron. While Charlie's Angels currently has a rotten rating of 59% (just a percentage point below a fresh rating) on the film aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, the "Verified Audience" score is a respectable 80%. Even more impressive is its B+ grade on Cinema Score. This may turn out to be a movie which gets mixed reviews by critics, yet well liked by moviegoers--so hopefully moviegoers give this film enough buzz and positive word of mouth to give CA some legs, as it did not do well as expected at the box office on Friday and Saturday. That being said, I thought I should add my two cent review:

While Charlie's Angels had its funny moments, thanks in large part to Kristen (e.g., the opening scene, which Kristen nailed, set the groundwork for what CA would ultimately be about), it played more like a spy thriller than an action-comedy, due to its ingenious espionage scenes, the underlying theme of elite power players weaponizing, of all things clean energy, edge-of-your-seat action sequences, double-crossings, and a bevy of plot twists which kept this film unpredictable. Of course Elizabeth Banks' feminist vision was spot on--if this wasn't the very definition of a girl power movie, then honestly I don't know what is. I mean, all the lead male characters, especially the misogynistic villains, either ended up dead or by the end of the film they were emasculated, walking around with their tails between their legs. Heck, even Charlie himself--or should I say, herself--is a woman. While the CA reboot payed homage to previous films in the franchise as well as to the original television series, Banks took female empowerment to another level. And this movie, despite its engaging storyline, wouldn't have been as enjoyable to watch if it wasn't for the noteworthy performances and chemistry exhibited by Kristen, Naomi Scott and Ella Balinska. This was the heart and soul of the movie--it was what gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside throughout the entire duration of the movie.

Getting back to Kristen's character Sabina, I now understand what director Banks and costar Scott meant when they remarked concerning how spontaneously hilarious Kristen was, as many of her comedic quips weren't even in the film script. And it wasn't just what Kristen said verbally, but what she did that made her funny. Take for example the crazy faces she made to a child sitting across from her while traveling on a boat, contorting her face almost beyond recognition. That, in my humble opinion is comedic talent on the level of say, Jim Carey. Thus the critics and moviegoers are probably surprised by Kristen's performance--although I knew she had it in her to pull off such a role after watching her absolutely own it during her two guest host appearances on Saturday Night Live. So judging by this, Kristen has the ability to act in such a way if the material calls for it and if the director cuts her loose and allows her to act in an impromptu and impulsive manner.

Lastly, the scene where Naomi Scott hacks into a Calisto device in order to weaponize it so it will emit EMP in order to override security and open a large steel door which is blocking an exit is eerily similar to a scene in the screenplay that I'm working on. So I guess it's back to the drawing board for me if I want to avoid being cliche.