'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' [BR + Digital]
(Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, Demi Moore, Bernie Mac, et al / Blu-ray+Digital / NR / (2003) 2018 / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Overview: The "Angels", three investigative agents (Barrymore, Diaz and Liu) who work for the Charles Townsend Detective Agency, return for another high-octane series of adventures as they investigate the theft of a database of witness protection profiles, after five of the people on the list are murdered.
They're aided by a new Bosley (Bernie Mac), in an adventure which pits them against a "fallen angel" (Moore), their old nemesis, the Thin Man (Glover), and others.
Blu-ray Verdict: 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' is, much like the original 2000 film, something of a masterpiece of goofy surrealism!
Say what you will, but the spectacular action scenes in this movie, as well as the comedy and often the "drama" are as off-the-wall and flat-out weird as anything in a David Lynch movie.
In particular there is an action scene at a motor cross that obeys the laws of physics in about the same way that 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' does, and by doing so it's one of the most exhilarating action sequences I've seen in a long time.
It's also a perfect summer movie. Funny, fast-paced, exciting, colorful, and with a soundtrack that just won't quit throwing great, classic songs at you, this is a hell of a fun movie.
Of course Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu reprise their roles as Nat, Dylan, and Alex, but this time Bernie Mac takes over as Bosley. As much as I loved Bill Murray in the original, Mac really rocks this role and brings a spin to it that matches the tone of the movie better than Murray did.
Like the original, 'Full Throttle' is thoroughly derivative, but in so many ways that it's completely unique also. It's like watching your favorite goofball martial-arts movie, going to a beach party, playing a video game, and listening to a great '80s mix tape all at the same time.
Playing Devil's Advocate here, much like the 'Fast & Furious' franchise forgot how physics work as the series progresses, 'Full Throttle' takes any smidgen of credibility the first one had (i.e. not much) and throws it out the window.
The trouble with that is that to pull this off the effects often look REALLY bad, sadly.
For example, in one late-in-the-movie scene, the Angels get shot in mid-air by a powerful pistol. Their bodies (again, in mid-air) jerk back in reaction to the bullet while still twirling back.
The effect is so badly done (not to mention the green screen in the background this whole time) that any sense of immersion is broken. This isn't just an aging thing because I still remember seeing this in theaters with my friend and thinking the effects looked bad even then!
'Full Throttle' had a larger budget than its predecessor, but its effects are worse and sometimes verge into awful territory. As a kid, I called BS on one scene near the end featuring Demi Moore in a wingsuit because it was too ridiculous to be real.
However, as an adult, I understand wingsuits ARE a real thing, but the effects are just bad to the point that it looks fake!
So, in conclusion, yes, good and bad here on display, but this was only 2003 after all and the CGI and such as taken incredible leaps and bounds to get where it is today. A time capsule of a movie that got horribly panned at the time, 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' is a bubblegum cinematic experience that is GREAT for everything that it never shirks away from being i.e. just fun!
As for some of these lovely Special Features, well, the stand outs to me (and aside from the McG audio commentary, that contains far too much "me, me, me"), include the Angel-Vision Trivia Track (where we learn so much about some of the more interesting shots of the film via pop up blurbs of trivia) and the trio of featurettes: Dream Duds: Costuming an Angel, Angels Makeover: Hansen Dam and Designing Angels: The Look of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.
Each one contains show pieces from the film that are very colorful, very painstakingly created and fit the Angel's to a tee! Also, the Pink video single 'Feel Good Time' (which was also her European lead single for the album Try This) is still a right royal pop song to here today!
Out now via Sony Pictures as a wonderful new Blu-ray + Digital Edition that includes both the Theatrical and Unrated Versions of the film, plus a whole host of great Special Features, this is a Widescreen Presentation (2.40:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with those Special Features of:
Check out the new Charlie's Angels!
Theatrical Trailer
Telestrator & Audio Commentary with Director McG
Writer’s Commentary
Angel-Vision Trivia Track
Full Throttle: The Cars of Charlie’s Angels
Dream Duds: Costuming an Angel
Angels Makeover: Hansen Dam
Designing Angels: The Look of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle
Learn Why: There’s No Such Thing As a “Short Shot”, Only an Overworked Producer
Music Video: Pink "Feel Good Time" Featuring William Orbit
Cameo-Graphy
Turning Angels into Pussycats Dolls
Rolling with the Punches
XXX-Treme Angels
Full Throttle Jukebox
Angel Scouts: A Look Into the Gorgeous Locations
'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' [BR + Digital] arrives on Blu-ray™ (plus Digital), October 22nd, 2019 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle' Trailer
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