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Jeff reviews:

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle

July 3, 2003
2003, 1 hr 50 min., Rated PG-13 for action violence, sensuality and language/innuendo.�Dir: McG. Cast: Cameron Diaz (Natalie), Drew Barrymore (Dylan), Lucy Liu (Alex), Bernie Mac (Bosley), Demi Moore (Madison Lee), Crispin Glover (Thin Man), Justin Theroux (Seamus O'Grady), Robert Patrick (Ray Carter), Matt LeBlanc (Jason), Luke Wilson (Pete), John Cleese (Mr. Munday).

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is your kind of movie if you're looking for nothing but boobs, buns and bullets. OK, maybe I should rephrase that, since I appreciate all three of those attributes, yet will not give this movie a positive review.

It's nothing but boobs, buns and bullets, when it tries to be a fun-loving action-tastic chick- and guy-flick.

I don't remember much of anything from the original flick a couple of summers ago, but I do know it was fun and I enjoyed my time in the theater. The sequel is equally forgettable, but unlike the first I only had fun some of the time and much of the attempted humor missed the mark.

One of the eye-rolling problems with Angels is that the action stunts are entirely too unbelievably fantastic. Think the latest James Bond flick with the glacier, and multiply by ten. Ridiculous, even for a movie of which its entire premise and style is supposed to be fantastical. Just because you can use CGI for stunts, doesn't mean you should.

The girls go to Mongolia, then spend time on the X Games-type circuit with surfing and dirt bikes, do some stripping on the side after playing the Nun role and some shipbuilding. All along it's mostly action-packed, but the shots are so quickly edited that you can't tell what's going on, in a particular fight or affecting the bigger picture around them.

Cameron Diaz is back shaking her rump and dancing, yet is a clumsy oaf at other times, right before executing a perfect somersault to knock a gun out of an enemy's hand.

Lucy Liu is adorable as always, playful yet entirely believable as a feminine lady who could kick your butt as well. Her father, played by John Cleese, stops by and is shocked by her lifestyle. Through it all, Cleese's comedic genius is wasted. Matt LeBlanc, similarly, returns as Liu's boyfriend and movie star, but isn't given much to do.

Drew Barrymore gets the emotional storyline in Full Throttle, stalked by an evil ex-boyfriend who is part of the scheme to kill all of the Angels. Thankfully, no Tom Green this time.

In support, Bernie Mac was nothing more than a clueless prop, although he does have more involvement than Bill Murray did as Bosley in the original.

Good to see Crispin Glover back as the Thin Man, with a rather disturbing revelation on his history. Other cameos include Bruce Willis and original Angel Jaclyn Smith, the latter amusing and the former curious in that he needn't be there at all.

There are a lot of subplots and pieces to the movie, even as the moviegoer would relish simplicity in such a silly story.

Does the plot matter? Doubtful, but it involves a pair of rings on which are contained every bit of information for people in the witness protection program, and Fallen Angel Demi Moore is the bad guy/gal. Moore is just showing off her mid-life crisis body, because no one's hiring her for acting ability in this film.

A few cute lines and scenes did have me laughing, such as the fact that Diaz and boyfriend Luke Wilson attend his ten-year high school reunion, and he went to Rydell High. A spoof of "CSI" is also worthwhile, and one time I could easily play along.

Maybe I should just accept, without reservations, the inherent silliness, infallibility of the trio and the impossible stunts.

Nope. Not today. There are limits, and Full Throttle never got me into the right gear.

The verdict:

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