Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

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Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

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Plot

The three most glamorous and butt-kicking private detectives in the business are back and ready to take on bad guys in this sequel to the 2000 blockbuster screen adaptation of the once-popular television series. Dylan (Drew Barrymore), Natalie (Cameron Diaz), and Alex (Lucy Liu) are once again summoned to the office of their boss Charlie (voice of John Forsythe), where they're introduced to his new right-hand man Jimmy Bosley (Bernie Mac) and given their latest assignment. It seems a pair of rings have gone missing and need to be recovered, but this was no ordinary jewel heist -- the rings have been coded with special information that can be used to access a list of every person in the FBI's Witness Protection Program, and when a handful of protected informants are murdered, the Angels are brought in to help crack the case. As the women search for the culprits, they encounter Madison Lee (Demi Moore), one of Charlie's former agents who decided that the wrong side of the law pays better, and Seamus (Justin Theroux), who once dated Dylan and wants revenge for her decision to turn him over to the police. Luke Wilson and Matt LeBlanc return as (respectively) Natalie and Alex's love interests, as does Crispin Glover as the Thin Man; John Cleese, Robert Forster, and Eric Bogosian also appear in supporting roles. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Review

This is fluffy commercialism at its core, easily discounted as yet another way to make loads of cash from an unattainable feminine ideal. That being said, the Charlie's Angels film franchise turns this ideal into a superhero movie, and the result is more exciting and thrilling than many of its comic book-based contemporaries. With the self-mocking humor, fantasy fighting sequences, dance club pulse, and standard crime-fighting plot, it feels a lot like watching The Powerpuff Girls, only with Cosmo-style sex appeal. With so much flesh on display, the überwomen are granted an even higher propensity for makeup, costumes, and spiked high heel boots. The degree of exaggeration is such that it all becomes a kind of grotesque fashion show, albeit with the trappings of a regular macho action movie. This time around, the superheroes even get supervillains; in keeping with the zero tolerance rule for body fat, Demi Moore is quite repulsive as the ex-Angel vigilante, while Justin Theroux makes a stylishly psychotic ex-boyfriend in a rip-off of Robert De Niro in Cape Fear. Director McG doesn't hide his music video skills while pumping up the soundtrack at every opportunity for a showy, explosion-filled trifle that at least has the decency to know it's a trifle, as parodied by Matthew LeBlanc's action movie premiere of "Maximum Extreme II." Upping her salary to a Julia Roberts level, the well-worn comic persona of Cameron Diaz manages a few good moments, despite her horribly thin and unrealistic body. Other than the loathsome subplot involving John Cleese and the unfortunate addition of Bernie Mac, this sequel improves upon its predecessor as an outlet for girlishly giddy delusions of grandeur. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Cast

Crispin Glover - Thin Man; Justin Theroux - Seamus; Robert Patrick - Ray Carter; Radrigo Santara - Randy Emmers; Shia LaBeouf - Max; Matt LeBlanc - Jason Gibbons; John Cleese - Mr. Munday; Ja'net DuBois - Momma Bosley; Robert Forster - Roger Wixon; Eric Bogosian - Alan Caulfield; Carrie Fisher - Mother Superior; Russell Bobbitt - Madison's Minion; Yuen Cheung-Yan - Deranged Mongol; Wayne Federman - Bathroom Guy; Steve Hytner - Bathroom Guy; Bela Karolyi - Himself; Joshua Miller - Chess Kid; Jaclyn Smith; Bruce Willis - William Rose Bailey; Ashley Olsen; Mary-Kate Olsen; Cliff Happy - Fleeing Suspect; Andrew Wilson - Cop; Pink; Marc John Jefferies - Bus Stop Kid; Anthony Griffith - Bosley Cousin; Mark Cotone - Prison Guard; Tommy Flanagan; Cyia Batten - Treasure Chest Dancer; Alfred R. Kahn - Madison's Minion; Big Boy - Bosley's Cousin; Guy Oseary - Restaurant Patron; Jennifer Gimenez - Nun; Jeremy McGrath - Himself; Ricky Carmichael - Himself; Carey Hart - Himself; Rodrigo Santoro - Randy Emmers; Eve - Herself; Khin-Kyaw Maung - Crooked-Tooth; Mushond Lee - FBI Agent; Kate Hendrickson - Nun; Chris Pontius - Irish Henchman; Daxing Zhang - Demented Mongol; Staci Flood - Treasure Chest Dancer; Shanti Lowry - Treasure Chest Dancer; Ed Robertson - Sheriff; Luke Massy - Irish Henchman; Michael Guarnera - Antonioni Crime Boss; Jonas Barnes - Irish Henchman; Carmit Bachar - Treasure Chest Dancer; Travis Bobbitt - Surfer; Kasey Campbell - Treasure Chest Dancer; John Chow - Eager Mongol; Bruce Comtois - Large Mongol; Nadine Ellis - Treasure Chest Dancer; Hannah Feldner-Shaw - Treasure Chest Dancer; Chris Gosselaar - Himself; Shawn Huang - Bus Stop Kid; Josh Janowicz - Hot Priest; Leo Moctezuma - Reunion Dancer; Gabriel Paige - Reunion Dancer; Tanoai Reed - Wrestler; Zack Shada - Thin Boy; Robert J. Stephenson - Crazed Fan; Charles Townsend - Madison's Minion; Hayley Zelniker - Treasure Chest Dancer

Credit

Richard Mays - Art Director, Greg Richman - Art Director, David F. Klassen - Supervising Art Director, Amanda Goldberg - Associate Producer, Stephanie Savage - Associate Producer, Justine Baddeley - Casting, Kimberly Davis-Wagner - Casting, Tom Saviano - Conductor, Cheryl Beasley Blackwell - Costume Designer, Mark Cotone - First Assistant Director, McG - Director, Mic Rodgers - Second Unit Director, Wayne Wahrman - Editor, Betty Thomas - Executive Producer, Patrick Crowley - Executive Producer, Jenno Topping - Executive Producer, Yuen Cheung-Yan - Fights Choreographer, Ed Shearmur - Composer (Music Score), Tom Saviano - Musical Arrangement, John Houlihan - Musical Direction/Supervision, J. Michael Riva - Production Designer, Russell Carpenter - Cinematographer, Drew Barrymore - Producer, Leonard J. Goldberg - Producer, Nancy Juvonen - Producer, Lauri Gaffin - Set Designer, Willie D. Burton - Sound/Sound Designer, Mic Rodgers - Stunts Coordinator, Tim Trella - Stunts Coordinator, John August - Screen Story, John August - Screenwriter, Cormac Wibberley - Screenwriter, Marianne Wibberley - Screenwriter, Jonathan P.B. Taylor - Additional Cinematography, Mark Stetson - Visual Effects Supervisor, Tom Saviano - Musical Performer, The Orphanage - Visual Effects

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Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

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Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

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Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

Promotional poster
Directed by McG
Produced by Drew Barrymore
Leonard Goldberg
Nancy Juvonen
Written by John August
Cormac Wibberley
Marianne Wibberley
Starring Cameron Diaz
Drew Barrymore
Lucy Liu
Bernie Mac
Crispin Glover
Justin Theroux
Robert Patrick
Demi Moore
Shia LaBeouf
Matt LeBlanc
Luke Wilson
John Cleese
Ja'net DuBois
Music by Edward Shearmur
Cinematography Russell Carpenter
Editing by Wayne Wahrman
Studio Wonderland Sound and Vision
Flower Films
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)
  • June 27, 2003 (2003-06-27)
Running time 106 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $120 million
Box office $259,175,788

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (also known as Charlie's Angels 2 or Charlie's Angels 2: Full Throttle) is a 2003 American action comedy film. It is the sequel to 2000's Charlie's Angels. It opened in the United States on June 27, 2003, and was number one at the box office for that weekend and made a worldwide total of $259.2 million.[1]

In an ensemble cast, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu return as Natalie, Dylan, and Alex respectively. It also features Demi Moore, Shia LaBeouf, Robert Patrick, Crispin Glover, Justin Theroux, Luke Wilson, John Cleese, and, replacing Bill Murray in the role of Bosley, Bernie Mac.

Contents

Plot

The Angels, Dylan, Natalie and Alex, are hired to locate a set of titanium rings stolen from the Department of Justice that, when put together in a special machine, will display a list of all individuals in the witness protection program. Having discovered that one person on the list has been killed, the Angels investigate the scene and discover evidence suggesting that the killer is a surfer with a scar on one leg.

Having tracked the killer to his next victim - who is subsequently sent to Bosley's house for protection - it is revealed that angel Dylan was once named Helen Zaas and is in the program herself for sending her former boyfriend Seamus - a member of the O'Grady mafia family - to jail.

Although they recover the rings, Dylan leaves the Angels because she doesn't want to endanger them with Seamus' vendetta, but a vision of former Angel Kelly Garrett prompts her to return. Dylan and the others deduce that former angel Madison Lee is the perpetrator of the crimes due to her being the only individual possessing the necessary contacts to carry out such a scheme. Madison, having concluded "Why be an Angel, when [she] can be God", shoots the Angels and reacquires the rings- although the Angels are saved by their specially-designed Kevlar vests- returns to the agency to "confront" Charlie, rejecting his attempts to remind her that the Angels are a family and shooting his speaker off the desk, coldly sneering that she wasn't just a good Angel, but was the best, rejecting the idea that she ever needed her teammates.

Learning that the rings will be sold after a rendezvous on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the Angels travel to Hollywood. They set the Antonioni Crime Family, the Tanaka Yakuza, and the Diablo Cartel up to be caught by the FBI in a faked rendezvous. With Madison having contacted the O'Gradys to act as security, Alex and Dylan take out the O'Gradys, while Natalie and Madison go head-to-head themselves. Seamus kills the Thin Man as he shares a kiss with Dylan and Dylan manages to kill her ex, with the Angels subsequently stopping Madison's attempt to blow up the premiere of Alex's boyfriend Jason's new movie thanks to Bosley knocking the bomb away. Although Madison tries to escape, the Angels defeat her in a final confrontation in an abandoned theatre, throwing her through a gas main just as she fires her gun, causing an explosion that kills her. The film ends with the Angels celebrating their victory with Bosley.

Cast

Cameos

Development

Courtney Love, Drew Barrymore's close friend, was originally offered the role of Madison Lee, but after suffering a miscarriage while filming stunts for Trapped,[3] she turned it down.[citation needed]

The movie starts up abruptly from the first film. However, there is a series of online animated episodes[4] that explain how the Angels got there and their mission, concluded by the very introduction of the movie. The Seamus O'Grady prison introduction scene is a direct reference to Robert De Niro's prison-set introduction in Cape Fear.[5]

The scene where the Angels go to investigate the body of Agent Caufield dressed as crime-scene professionals is a homage/parody of the long-running CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, complete with the theme "Who Are You" by The Who.

The song "Feel Good Time" is the film's main track, and is performed by P!nk. Whenever Seamus O'Grady (Justin Theroux) appears, he is accompanied by Bernard Hermann's theme from Cape Fear.

Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson heavily sponsored the movie, using it as the launch for its T610i mobile phone, which Lucy Liu uses in the ship dock scene.[citation needed]

Dita Von Teese is in the credits, listed under "Special Thanks". This is because Dita allowed Cameron Diaz to perform the 'Dancing In The Martini' scene, an act which Dita is well known for.[citation needed]

Reception

The film had a budget of $120 million. It grossed $100,830,111 at the United States box office and had to depend on earnings from overseas box office to make profit. By the end of its run, the film had grossed $259,175,788 worldwide and had performed about as well worldwide as its predecessor.[citation needed]

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle received mixed reviews and has earned a rating of 44% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 174 reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from film critics, it has a rating score of 48, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[citation needed]

The film was nominated for seven Golden Raspberry Awards in 2004 including Worst Picture, Worst Actress for both Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz, Worst Screenplay and Worst Excuse for an Actual Movie (All Concept/No Content), winning two trophies for Worst Remake or Sequel and Worst Supporting Actress for Demi Moore.[citation needed]

References

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Carey Hart (Actor, Sports & Recreation/Action)
Dedication (2007 Comedy Drama Film)
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003 Album by Original Soundtrack)
Justin Theroux (Actor, Writer, Director, Comedy/Comedy Drama)