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Charlie's Angels
Mar. 28th, 2020 01:32 pmI meant to see Charlie's Angels in theaters last fall, and then for one reason or another it never happened... so last night Julie and I finally watched it, and I'm kicking myself for not seeing it on the big screen when I had the chance, because it's loads of fun and I think it would have been even more fun with a whole theater full of people to laugh along with the jokes.
A few things I liked, in no particular order:
- it is a very funny movie; Kristin Stewart in particular gets some amazing lines. She looks like she had an amazing time making this movie. Well, really I got that vibe from most of the actors, but Kristin Stewart especially seems to have been having a blast. She gets to dress up as a jockey, for goodness sake!
- but at the same time there's an acknowledgment that this kind of exciting espionage has a cost in human lives, both in agents and in bystanders, which makes the movie feel a little more grounded than, say, The Spy Who Dumped Me (which I also love, but definitely the vibe is very different).
- the newbie, Elena, is realistically out of her depth at the beginning, but her skills from her previous life nonetheless make her an asset to the team right from the start
- Sabina and Jane, two more experienced Angels, have a somewhat strained working relationship at the beginning of the film, but the movie doesn't devote loads of time to bickering; the strain is palpable but understated. (I particularly appreciated this because we recently watched the 2015 Man from U.N.C.L.E., which definitely would have been improved by less bickering, or at least more affectionate bickering.)
- the beautiful establishing shots of the locations. (Hamburg in particular struck me, simply because I'd never realized it was such a lovely city.)
- there's a fight in a rock quarry which makes amaaaazing use of the quarry equipment.
A few things I liked, in no particular order:
- it is a very funny movie; Kristin Stewart in particular gets some amazing lines. She looks like she had an amazing time making this movie. Well, really I got that vibe from most of the actors, but Kristin Stewart especially seems to have been having a blast. She gets to dress up as a jockey, for goodness sake!
- but at the same time there's an acknowledgment that this kind of exciting espionage has a cost in human lives, both in agents and in bystanders, which makes the movie feel a little more grounded than, say, The Spy Who Dumped Me (which I also love, but definitely the vibe is very different).
- the newbie, Elena, is realistically out of her depth at the beginning, but her skills from her previous life nonetheless make her an asset to the team right from the start
- Sabina and Jane, two more experienced Angels, have a somewhat strained working relationship at the beginning of the film, but the movie doesn't devote loads of time to bickering; the strain is palpable but understated. (I particularly appreciated this because we recently watched the 2015 Man from U.N.C.L.E., which definitely would have been improved by less bickering, or at least more affectionate bickering.)
- the beautiful establishing shots of the locations. (Hamburg in particular struck me, simply because I'd never realized it was such a lovely city.)
- there's a fight in a rock quarry which makes amaaaazing use of the quarry equipment.
