Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating *
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, Ella Balinska, Elizabeth Banks, Patrick Stewart, Djimon Hounsou, Sam Clafin, Jonathan Tucker, Nat Faxon, Chris Pang, Luis Gerado Mendez, Noah Centineo, David Schutter, Hannah Hoekstra, Jane Chirwa, Emre Kentmenoglu, Murali Perumal, Sebastian Kroehnert, Franz Xaver Zach, Andreas Schroders, Marie-Lou Sellam, Batur Belirdi, Anna Drexler, Jacqueline Smith.
It feels wrong to talk ill of the terminally dull, a social disappointment to which divides opinion with unease, and whilst such opinion is always subjective, one person’s eyebrows furrowed in frustration and discontent, quite another with their hands clasped together having all their expectations fulfilled. Yet, somehow, surely, this does not apply to all that may come the way of the fan of cinema, there can be no mistaking the fact that some films, no matter how much polish they are given, stick in the memory for all the wrong reasons.
Such a move towards the brain refusing to take any more of the incredulous and deeply unsatisfying is certainly felt when placing your film addiction in the hands of the latest attempt to match the glory and success that was felt in its television format, the most recent re-imagining of Charlie’s Angels.
In a time when there are many films that capture the imagination and have incredibly superb story-lines for women at their very core, it is unfortunate that Charlie’s Angels, despite having the multi-talented Elizabeth Banks at the helm and boasting a cast that includes Patrick Stewart, Naomi Scott and Djimon Hounsou within its ranks, just could not find a way to make the heart skip a little faster in excitement, or even get past the idea of being arguably so concerned of being wanting to appeal to a demographic that seems to not to care about substance as much as it does aesthetics.
Good intentions are honourable, and Elizabeth Banks is one of the most assured and dynamic women in the business, and rightly so, but in this particular film, there is little to congratulate or even find amusing. The twist on gender works, especially with the revelation on multiple Bosleys, but that is all there is keeping the film together and if it was not for the subtly of gender politics being weaved through the entire process, then the film itself might have completely and utterly sunk without a trace.
A poor, and perhaps misguided attempt to resurrect a franchise that in truth was already floundering, Charlie’s Angels is not as heavenly as anyone would hope.
Ian D. Hall