Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle
directed by McG
story by John August
screenplay by John August and Cormac Wibberley & Marianne Wibberley
based on the television show created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts
starring Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, Demi Moore, Bernie Mac, Justin Theroux,
Robert Patrick, Luke Wilson, Matt LeBlanc, and Crispin Glover

                Many summer movies are expected to be escapist entertainment.  Yet, how can we, as viewers, escape while we constantly question the reality of the world we attempt to immerse ourselves in?  Action movies often take themselves seriously despite their flaws in believable dialogue, stunts and plot-lines.  Suspension of disbelief can only go so far.  
               Then a picture like Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle comes along and takes it all so far over the edge, intentionally, that escapism is not even involved.  There is only pure entertainment.  It is the equivalent of a joke taken so far that it has passed the point of not being funny anymore and is now funny again. 
              The first Charlie's Angels had allready taken us there, and little in the sequel is as fresh and fun as it was back then.  The three Angels Dylan, Natalie and Alex (Barrymore, Diaz and Liu, respectively) are still working for Charlie, going undercover in exotic places, role playing in wild costumes and defeating all laws of gravity in order to bring down the bad guys.  Only now the bad guys are familiar faces, whether from their pasts, their government or their own agency.
             The three detectives must recover two titanium rings, stolen from government officials, which, together, give the identities and locations of the country's most highly protected witnesses.  All the world's most dangerous gangs are hoping to get their hands on them, including Irish mobster Seamus O'Grady (Theroux), a former boyfriend of Dylan's, who she had put away eight years ago.  With the help of a new Bosley (Mac) and silent assassin "The Thin Man" (Glover), Charlie's girls track down Madison Lee (Moore), a fallen Angel who is lethally their equal. 
              As I had observed with the original, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle just looks like it was a blast to make.  The chemistry between the actors, primarily the top three stars, is amazing and there is a major desire to be a part of the fun.  It is the type of production where people were likely begging to make surprise cameos, and there are a few of them to back up the theory.
            Still there are actors (Wilson and LeBlanc) who I wished would have more to do this time than continue their roles as 'the boyfriend'.  In the last film, they worked for balance, fulfilling parts that in a testosterone based action picture would be cast as beautiful damsels in distress, though neither that film nor this one really takes advantage of the irony that could be developed.  This time around, they are basically used for comic relief involving miscommunication gags better suited for whenever they bring "Three's Company" to the big screen.
           At a time when every franchise wants to be Star Wars, hoping for merchandising success through fanboys and devotees, I long for this type of entertainment in the same guilty way I enjoy reading about Hollywood parties.  I liken Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle to my most praised sequel this year, Shanghai Knights, another silly romp with tremendous chemistry.  I could only hope to see sequels of these movies dished out again and again, basking in their amusement, while the rest of the world awaits the next opening midnight show with which to play dress-up and sword fight (or saber fight) in the lobby.

Umm.  I like Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle for the serious plot.   Really.