'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' -- PG-13
Ah, the summer of 2003, one that, judging from the movies in the soon-to-be-released section, can be accurately described as the Summer of Sequels. One of the most-touted of these sequels is "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," a movie I subjected myself to for 90 minutes of tedium and maybe 10 minutes of enjoyment.
After much thought, I have concluded that "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" lacks a plot, so I will skip that section of the review.
But wait, I've got to write something about what happens. In a nutshell (or two), the three angels, Natalie (Cameron Diaz), Dylan (Drew Barrymore) and Alex (Lucy Liu) have been tasked to recover two rings that, from what I gathered, can reveal the location of every witness that has gone into hiding.
Opposing the angels is a fallen angel, Madison (Demi Moore), who has thrown her lot with an arch-Irish Mafia leader, Seamus O'Grady (Jason Theroux) and his mute henchman, the Thin Man (Crispin Glover), who also desires the ring. Along for the ride is a particularly inept Bosley (Bernie Mac).
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That's more than enough for the plot. Actually, to call it a plot would be something of an overstatement, because more often than not, it resembles a hodgepodge of elements thrown together. The whole structure totters precariously on the line drawn by director McG (what kind of name is that?) that separates the action and the spoofing with an overkill of cameos. The entire premise of chasing a ring should ring a bell. Think a certain trilogy of films that is slated to release its final product in December. It got maddening, but I digress.
Looking at the acting, I can really find no fault. The Angels play their roles well and do basically what is expected of them -- look beautiful while seriously laying out the damage on the bad guys.
My other beef with the movie would lie in the computer graphics. There is pain and agony in seeing such a blatant misuse of modern technology. Lots of scenes were intended to wow the audience, but due to a unique combination of ripped off moves and poor computer work this just left a nasty taste in the mouth.
You could call this movie a no-brainer -- something that won't tax the mental resources but could entertain. I know that I'm being a picky and I'm sure that many of you will enjoy "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle," but I never warmed to it. A 3.5 out of 10.
Andrew Howard is a graduate at Rochester Lourdes High School. To respond to reviews in Sound &; Vision, call 252-1111, category TEEN (8336); write Teen Beat, Post-Bulletin, P.O. Box 6118, Rochester, MN 55903-6118 or send e-mail to teenbeat@postbulletin.com.
