Remakes and sequels of conspicuously old films and TV shows have less to do nostalgia and more with Hollywood’s lack of originality. In our times, when the Orwellian eradication of the past is enthusiastically embraced by “woke” Millennials and Zoomers, any attempt to exploit nostalgia risks delivering content that would be unacceptable merely by association. This is the reason why films like Charlie’s Angels, 2000 action comedy directed by McG, are very unlikely to be made in the future.
The film represents sequel to immensely popular 1970s television series about three women working as private detectives for mysterious and never seen employer Charlie Townsend (voiced by John Forsythe, who repeats the role in the film). The series was sometimes praised for progressive concept of women being action heroes, but it was often criticised for having episode plots as an excuse to feature female protagonists scantily clad or in swimsuits, a practice derisively called “jiggles TV”. New version introduces us to three new protagonists working for Charlie – Natalie Cook (played by Cameron Diaz), Dylan Sanders (played by Drew Barrymore) and Alex Munday (played by Lucy Liu). They are given the task of finding Eric Knox (played by Sam Rockwell), software genius and founder of voice recognition company who recently went missing, and whether Roger Corwin (played by Tim Curry), leader of communication satellite company, has something to do with it.
Hollywood has been adapting popular 1960s and 1970s television shows into big budget feature films for a long time but those efforts, more often than not, left much to be desired. In case of Charlie’s Angels producers, which included its star Drew Barrymore, decided to try something different. And that meant embracing principle of “style over substance”, used in so many Hollywood films at the time. Josephn McGinty Nichol a.k.a. “McG”, who had built his career in 1990s music videos, made Charlie’s Angels look like a long music video, with greatest possible emphasis on “cool” visuals, rapid editing and as many pop culture references as possible, many of them not having to do much with the original show. However, McG was true to the spirit of 1970s series by having three protagonists depicted in sexualised manner, using every opportunity to show them in partially revealing costumes, use their sexuality to exploit weakness male adversaries or use all kinds of “double entendres” in their dialogue. The exploitative nature of the film is hidden by plenty of explosions and fist fights. On the other hand, script wasn’t deemed that important and what Ryan Rowe, Ed Solomon and John August wrote features the plot which is both complicated and forgettable. Because of it, even the obvious talents of cast, which include Sam Rockwell in one of his most high profile roles, seem wasted. Script is also at odds whether to, like the original series, function as straight action drama or the parody of original series. If the idea was to make the latter, the intention is somewhat compromised by having scenes that spoof diverse sort of content that include references to Mission: Impossible, James Bond and martial arts films. On the other hand, Barrymore and her colleagues appear to have great time on the set and this can reflect on the audience, at least those segments that don’t ask want to employ too much of their brain power while enjoying Hollywood entertainment. Those who watch today’s film from the distance of two decades would also indulge in a little bit of nostalgia and seeing how such Hollywood entertainment, even in era of “political correctness”, seems unrestrained with its limitations or producers’ fear over social media outrages of today. Charlie’s Angels became big hit and in 2003 came inevitable sequel Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. After a failed attempt to revive the series in 2011 came another, also disappointing, feature film adaptation in form of Elizabeth Banks’ 2019 eponymous film.
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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