CHARLIE’S ANGELS
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(12A)
AFTER 40 years of dedicated service, John Bosley (Sir Patrick Stewart) retires as senior controller of the Los Angeles-based Townsend Agency, which operates under the aegis of the enigmatic Charlie (voiced by Robert Clotworthy).
In John’s absence, the new ‘Bosley’ (Djimon Hounsou) assumes control of a Hamburg rendezvous with whistleblower Elena Houghlin (Naomi Scott), who has evidence that the Calisto energy conservation project pioneered by philanthropist Alexander Brok (Sam Claflin) can be hacked for nefarious means.
The meeting descends into bullet-riddled chaos and two plucky Angels – former MI6 agent Jane Kano (Ella Balinska) and heiress jailbird
Sabina Wilson (Kristen Stewart) – intervene to save Elena from an assassin.
The ladies regroup with a third ‘Bosley’ (Elizabeth Banks), who tasks the trio with infiltrating Brok’s offices to steal the remaining Calisto devices before they can be weaponised.
Banks directs and seems a good fit after guiding Pitch Perfect 2 – another feelgood tale of female empowerment – to bumper box office takings and a clutch of awards, but while Stewart, Balinska and Scott are appealingly feisty, their on-screen camaraderie is undernourished.
Charlie’s Angels blends a familiar cocktail of explosive stunts and wry humour with minimum characterisation and nostalgic nods to the original series, while its gossamer-thin plot is just a way of linking one bruising action set piece with the next.
PLAYMOBIL: THE MOVIE (U)
EIGHTEEN-year-old Marla (Anya TaylorJoy) dreams of travelling the world with her most prized possession – her first adult passport. Fate cruelly intervenes and Marla’s hopes are crushed as she adopts the role of sole caregiver for her little brother Charlie (Gabriel Bateman). But when Marla and Charlie are magically miniaturised into Playmobil figures they embark on an epic quest.
Cast in a similar mould to The LEGO Movie, it fails to build to similar heights.
■ Available to stream, download or to buy on DVD from December 2.