Editor’s Note: The following review is part of our coverage of TIFF’s fall film series Beyond Badass: Female Action Heroes. For more information, visit tiff.net and follow TIFF on Twitter at @TIFF_NET.
“I hear birds can’t fly this high.”
“I hear only angels can.”
This exchange during the opening sequence of director McG’s Charlie’s Angels sets the tone for the entire film: no one but the remarkable Charlie’s Angels can reach the heights and accomplish the feats that they do — and Charlie’s Angels are, of course, three badass females. We learn just how badass they are right off the bat, in a mission that involves jumping from an airplane, handling a bomb, and driving off in a speedboat. No one is blown up, no one breaks a bone or even gets a scratch, and they head off happy, calm and collected, ready for their next mission.
The voiceover describing the Angels belongs to Charlie Townsend (John Forsythe), an anonymous millionaire and the Angels’ employer, who says: “They’re brilliant, they’re beautiful, and they work for me.”
A subsequent montage introduces us to the three Angels and their different backgrounds. Natalie (Cameron Diaz) is the blonde free spirit; Alex (Lucy Liu), the dark-haired high achiever; and Dylan (Drew Barrymore), the red-haired rock-n-roller. Despite their varied backgrounds and personalities, all three women are independent, strong, funny, creative and highly intelligent. The voiceover describing the Angels belongs to Charlie Townsend (John Forsythe), an anonymous millionaire and the Angels’ employer, who says: “They’re brilliant, they’re beautiful, and they work for me.”
The Angels are certainly all highly intelligent, and are equally as likely to use their sex appeal as they are to expertly rewire bombs or fend off enemies using stunning martial arts techniques. None of the Angels ever see Charlie in real life, and he communicates via speakerphone during meetings orchestrated by the somewhat goofy but very lovable Bosley (Bill Murray), who has also never seen Charlie in real life.
Charlie’s Angels is an enjoyable, humorous film based off of the classic ’70s TV show of the same name.
The Angels find themselves tasked with rescuing a computer genius named Eric Knox (Sam Rockwell), who runs his own company and created state-of-the-art voice recognition software. He is thought to have been kidnapped by Roger Corwin (Tim Curry), who owns Redstar, a communications-satellite company. An especially unique bad guy nicknamed Creepy Thin Man (Cirspin Glover) plays an ongoing role in the story, throwing curveballs and giving the Angels a run for their money in martial arts and stealth—and in the entire film, he never says a word, only shrieking with joy as he tears out a handful of Dylan’s hair and runs it over his face multiple times.
As the Angels work together to solve clues, pursue bad guys, make rescue attempts and use their varied skillset to infiltrate advanced computer systems, drive race cars and generally kick ass, they are forced to unravel pieces of the puzzle they did not see coming, scrambling to save themselves and the people most important in their lives. Charlie’s Angels is an enjoyable, humorous film based off of the classic ’70s TV show of the same name. Diaz, Liu and Barrymore are all excellent in their roles, believable as their characters, and delivering jokes as genuinely as when reacting to moments of stress and adrenaline. The supporting characters are all equally as strong, and the film would not work as well as it does had different actors been cast.
Whether you have or have not seen Charlie’s Angels, if you’re looking for a popcorn film with a great 90s soundtrack, beautiful, badass females, good special effects and a fun storyline with a twist, then go ahead and celebrate its release of 15 years ago by watching this female action hero classic.
Whether you have or have not seen Charlie’s Angels, if you’re looking for a popcorn film with a great 90s soundtrack, beautiful, badass females, good special effects and a fun storyline with a twist, then go ahead and celebrate its release of 15 years ago by watching this female action hero classic.
