Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle ** (2003, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Demi Moore, John Cleese, Bernie Mac, Rodrigo Santoro) – Classic Movie Review 2913

The angelic babes are back in director McG’s 2003 sequel to his 2000 Charlie’s Angels, larking around again to our hearts content as Charlie’s girls in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. This frothy follow-up starts where the original left off and just lays on more and more of the hot sex appeal, daffy charm and sheer silliness.

Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu are such enormous fun that it seems mean to say their movie’s an incoherent show, rushing breathlessly from one set of high kicks to the next lot of jokey encounters and on to yet another musical number. In making a 105-minute music video, they forget to invent a plot or find proper work for Demi Moore as the baddie or John Cleese as the bewildered daddy (Lucy’s).

Okay, then, for the record there is a fragment of a ridiculous plot in the screenplay by Cormac Wibberley, Marianne Wibberley and John August: the angels are sent on a mission to repossess two precious rings encrypted with the new identities on individuals on the Witness Protection Programme.

John Forsythe again appears in voice only in his old TV role as Charlie Townsend. Bernie Mac is funny as John Bosley, the Angels’ boss, Bill Murray being noticeably and regrettably absent this time after an argument on the first film with Lucy Liu (though they made up in September 2003).

Rodrigo Santoro as Randy Emmers.

It comes complete with a beefcake role for Rodrigo Santoro as Randy Emmers, with also in the cast Luke Wilson, Matt LeBlanc, Crispin Glover, Justin Theroux, Robert Patrick, Shia LaBeouf, Ja’net DuBois, Jaclyn Smith, Bruce Willis, Ashley Olsen and Mary-Kate Olsen.

The GB 12 version is cut from the original American PG-13 rating for action violence, sensuality and language and innuendo.

It was a more costly, far less successful sequel, putting a sudden end to the series. The original 2000 Charlie’s Angels cost $93,000,000 and grossed $125,305,545 in the US and $264,105,545 worldwide, while Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle cost $120,000,000 and grossed $100,830,111 in the US and $259,175,788.

A Charlie’s Angels reboot was planned for 2016, and then for 2018, with Elizabeth Banks slated as director. Charlie’s Angels (2019) was finally released on 15 November 2019 (US). Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska portray the Angels. Sam Claflin is reteaming with his The Hunger Games co-star Banks and starring as Alexander Brock, with Banks as one of the Bosley characters. Patrick Stewart and Djimon Hounsou play the other two main Bosleys.

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© Derek Winnert 2015 Classic Movie Review 2913

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