Charlies Angels (2019), directed by Elizabeth Banks, was an action reboot / remake of the 1970s TV classic of the same name and a series of movies from the early 2000’s that starred Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu respectively.
Whilst the former two movies from the 2000’s were tongue in cheek, mixed comedy with action sequences that took homage from The Matrix (1999) and other, similar Hong Kong action wire-fu movies; this movie takes itself a lot more serious, relies on subversion of expectations to deliver what amounts to an empty movie that lacks edge, feels lazy; and whilst enjoyable in parts, is very bland and forgettable.
The plot of this movie surrounds a young company whistleblower who alerts the Angels of the theft of a new energy source that is capable of being weaponised.
Playing in about 120 minutes, the movie sometimes has elements of humour with some sometimes good action sequences. The chemistry between the three main actors was at least good.
For me, the movie just was very flat, and didn’t connect with me. It lacked a creative edge or vision; and lacked a connection with the audience. Some of the fight sequences just weren’t very good; and the heroes never seem to go through the normal hero arch or any real struggle.
The movie, influenced by James Bond-esque sequences, and other spy genre movies, uses deadpan quips, dry and droll humour tries to push a commonly repeated cinematic narrative trope: the “strong woman in a man’s world” where the female actors look great whilst kicking ass.
Despite this, the movie performed poorly at the box office and with audiences both domestically and internationally.
According to 2019 Deadline article (How ‘Charlie’s Angels’ Fell From Grace At The Box Office With An $8M+ Opening), the movie had a poor $8.6M domestic US opening with an even worse opening in China. Deadline’s article points to script problems and an IP with no drawing power, adding that “[this is] what happens when you have IP, but there’s no reason for telling the story.“
In addition, there was a bizarre choice by the director, to attack a key demographic for not going to the cinema to support the movie.
Banks’ interview with Fast Company on Youtube seemed to coalesce this bizarre marketing choice. (Source: Youtube).
Whether this bizarre choice to attack the audience actually lead to poor box office seems unclear – regardless, it certainly did not help matters.
I get a general sense that it was combination a number of factors that caused the movie’s failure — from franchise fatigue, to the disruptive innovation caused by online movie streaming services such as Netflix; to the poor script, to an IP that had no real drawing power.
All of this seemed to fashion a final product that was poorly crafted, ultimately, leading to poor box office numbers.
How this movie should have drawn inspiration from the “Girls with Guns” era
From a Hollywood perspective, perhaps it may feel that there isn’t that many female lead action movies; of course, in response, many counter this statement with Sarah Connor from the Terminator series, or Ripley from the Alien franchise, or 2019’s Alita Battle Angel or Atomic Blonde. There are examples, and plenty of them.
However, as a thought experiment; I feel this movie would have been much better if it drew inspiration from the Girls with Guns craze from Hong Kong and Taiwanese cinema, of the ’80s and early ’90s. These movies were fast-paced and offered high octane action coupled with strong performances, with interesting characters.
I’m talking about Iron Angels 2 (1988), Yes Madam! (1985), Killer Angels (1989), the Angel Terminators (1992) series; or drew inspiration from actresses like Michelle Yeoh, Moon Lee, Yukari Oshima and others then perhaps Charlies Angels wouldn’t have been as bad.
For more information on the Girls with Guns era; I suggest reading Back Row’s in-depth article on the subject (link: Girls With Guns in Hong Kong: Beyond Michelle Yeoh & Cynthia Rothrock).
As example, I’ve linked a short clip of Angel (1987) which showcases a style that I feel this movie could have drawn inspiration, and innovated from.
Summary
Charlies Angels (2019) was not the right creative vehicle to explore the idea of a female centric action cinema movie; and whilst it is enjoyable at times – is ultimately flat, feels lazy and forgettable.
Rating: 4 / 10