Heavenly leads rock in fun-but-flawed reboot
As a teenager when the previous Charlie’s Angels movies were first realised, my motivations for enjoying them may have been, shall we say, questionable!
Subsequent viewings revealed all of their flaws and the buzz surrounding this reboot wasn’t great, coming off the back of a poor showing at the US box office.
And while Charlie’s Angels 2019 won’t bother the placings for my top 10 flicks of the year, I was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable it was.
Let’s get the obvious out of the way first; right from the opening line – “women can do anything” – this reboot is a feminine war cry with every male character, bar one or two, presented as dumb, odious, creepy or evil.
No matter their incarnation, the Angels have always been strong females but I’m not sure it was a wise move by director Elizabeth Banks to exhibit this at the expense of the men throughout her movie.
The Angels themselves – Kristen Stewart (Sabina), Naomi Scott (Elena) and Ella Balinska (Jane) – are a captivating trio sharing fun interplay; Stewart in particular – an actress you wouldn’t associate with such a role – is a ball of positive, controlled energy.
Going down the rookie Angel route – with Scott – is a new angle to take but often just an excuse for exposition.
There are too many characters – did we really need Luis Gerardo
Méndez’s nutrition-obsessed Q wannabe? – and the spy stuff is more Ocean’s Eleven formulate plan and look cool while implementing it-like than dangling from helicopters ala Mission: Impossible.
Thankfully, the fights scenes are frenetically cut, the locations luscious and the plot includes a couple of surprising rug-pulls.
Feisty-but-forgettable, Charlie’s Angels 2019 deserves better than its negative American reception, but heavily relies on the lead trio’s heavenly chemistry.
Too long and formulaic, Blinded by the Light is far from the boss of musical movies.
But lead
Viveik Kalra is captivating and the Springsteen tunes will have you dancing in the dark.