Charlie's Angels (2019)

Oh, …everyone knows Charlie’s Angels. That would span three generations to be exact, and perhaps now, the fourth. The boomers introduced it in the TV and the Gen Xers took it to the big screen, and the next two generations have knowledge about it thanks to the stars who shined into the millennium (Diaz, Liu, and my then crush, Drew Barrymore)

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Personally, I have fond memories of the TV series that were broadcasted here in Malaysia in the early 80s. My late cousin sister assigned one of the Angels to us brothers…sort of TV girlfriend, and I got Jaclyn Smith…I don’t know why. And she makes a cameo appearance here as Kelly Garret, the original Angel, as she did in the first film reincarnation.

We liked the series…every day there was an adventure, beginning with instruction from Charlie from phone speaker, and the girls go on kicking butt. The first film remade overdid the butt-kicking, and I didn’t enjoy it…I didn’t like the cast, except my then crush, Drew Barrymore…sigh…

Anyway, how did this one fare? Oh heck, …it was fun. There were some dull moments here and there, but the film really has a pace to sustain our interest. I sort of didn’t pay attention to the plot but dammit, there are lots of thinking done in this version…as it should considering the original TV series butt-kicking were very limited, and, well, it was just a figure of speech anyway.

Here, the characters mesh well, with Kristen Stewart playing against type (this is redundant, all actors are supposed to be playing against type) and the director of this film, Elizabeth Banks, playing the more mature, and sort-of boss for the two girls (in addition to Stewart, we get Ella Ballinska, the most butt-kickingest of the two, in my opinion).

Amidst it all is the central character around whom plot revolves, Naomi Scott (the Jasmine of the live-action Alladin), who is a real delight in this film. She really livens up any scene she is in, and seriously worth the money you spend on this otherwise what could have been by the number action flick.

Banks directed this with only a slight hint of feminism outpouring in the script. Sure, male-bashing is essential to get these girls a step higher in the hierarchy, and frankly, the guys deserve it. The camaraderie between the gals are admirable, sometimes bordering on…you know…

But leave all those analysing aside, and what we have is a fun flick filled with grounded action scenes that prefers wit than speed. If you are with the girls, you will really enjoy it. Plus, we also have Patrick Stewart, hamming it up as their boss (there’re many Bosleys…you have to watch it to understand the whole point).

What I really liked about this is, that it established the fact that the agency is one, but the girls are different from the time of my beloved Jaclyn Smith. We get to see portraits of the earlier gals and so whatever fault or criticism you have previously, you will forgive them because they are different folks.

And so, I liked it to a certain extent, because I never quite liked the earlier big-screen adaptation. To tell you the truth, I’d rather watch this and its sequel than the Mission: Impossible films, the universe in which Angels seemed to be functioning. The grounded Angels team wins me anytime, compared to Supercruise.