Review: Charlie’s Angels is a feminist update to a classic franchise
With a new, younger cast and a distinctly feminist message, Charlie’s Angels puts a modern twist on the classic franchise.
In the post-“Me Too” era, it’s difficult to imagine that a new installment of Charlie’s Angels — the franchise notorious for dressing women in skimpy outfits and having them fight crime while doing so — would go over well. Bearing this in mind, it’s abundantly clear that Elizabeth Banks and the team behind Charlie’s Angels earnestly set out to update the franchise and take it in a direction that empowers women as opposed to objectifying them. Although at times the film seems to be beating us over the head with its messages of self-love and girl power, it’s still an engaging, action-packed, and at times genuinely funny movie.
The film follows the story of Elena Houghlin (Naomi Scott), a prodigal young scientist who finds herself swept up into the world of the Townsend Agency and the Angels when her clean energy device is stolen for nefarious purposes. By her side along the way are Sabina (an electric Kristen Stewart) and Jane (Ella Blaniska), two elite agents with expert combat skills and a penchant for flashy clothing. The plot is nothing particularly riveting and leaves a little to be desired in terms of effectiveness (the film is two hours long, but could afford to shave off 20 minutes), but it’s not so contrived as to cause any real problems.
Undoubtedly, the best thing the film has going for it comes in the form of its angels, particularly Kristen Stewart. As an actress constantly striving to escape from the Twilight-shaped shadow that has hung over her career for the past decade or so, Stewart is genuinely hilarious in her portrayal of the off-kilter Sabina — 95 percent of the film’s laugh-out-loud moments come from her, one particular example being a spit-take worthy exchange about Batman with Bosley (Elizabeth Banks).
Naomi Scott is serviceable as the film’s lead. Her character is the sort of awkward genius, as many protagonists in this genre seem to be, whose only real traits are the ability to react appropriately to all the antics that the angels get up to. Given that we as an audience have been familiar with the franchise’s concept for more than 40 years, it’s a little eye-roll-inducing to be subjected to watching yet another character be stunned by the angel’s beauty and prowess, but none of that is Scott’s fault in particular. If anything, Elena is a sort of nothing character, and Scott brings as much energy as she can to an otherwise dime-a-dozen role.
Rounding out the trio is Ella Balinska as the stoic Jane, an ex-MI6 agent who acts as the stuffy, uptight angel of the trio. Though it’s hardly believable that a statuesque 23-year-old could be a hardened ex-operative, Balinska brings genuine emotion to her role, and her best moments come in her times of vulnerability. Her humor doesn’t generally land well (nor does Scott’s, for that matter), as both pale in comparison to Stewart’s joke-cracking Sabina.
Beyond its cast, however, much of Charlie’s Angels feels manufactured and superficial. Just as we fondly laugh and question how we ever could have found the fashion in the 2000 installment of Charlie’s Angels stylish, the clothes, music, and gadgets in this version are equally as stylish. However, one notable addition in the 2019 incarnation is the emphasis on self-care and self-love — as Elena points out, the Angels are eating cheese and wine, not whey protein shakes as she might have assumed. The self-care element was a nice touch when first introduced, but a 15-minute scene felt a little gratuitous and insincere.
Also bordering on gratuitous and insincere was the film’s feminism. Produced by Drew Barrymore and written by Elizabeth Banks, Charlie’s Angels is very clearly trying to make up for lost ground when it comes to feminism. At times, many elements do work — especially the bond between the three angels. That being said, much of the tertiary elements feel thrown in or added on purely for the sake of pleasing naysayers or meeting a quota of “feminist” ideas — especially the male characters, many of whom are so sexist they border on caricatures.
There’s a moment in the film in which a male character literally puts a collar on Elena and drags her around by a leash — and though one assumes the audience is supposed to feel rage at such sexist behavior, we were more upset over the lack of subtlety in the film’s message. Although it’s certainly a good thing to have a film that addresses toxic masculinity and institutional sexism, the film often treats the audience as less than competent.
However, the film as a whole is still very much an enjoyable experience. The action is solid, the dialogue is surprisingly funny, and the soundtrack is a who’s-who of bankable female artists. In the grand tradition of Charlie’s Angels films that came before it, this new incarnation isn’t trying to be anything it’s not. While it may have a new coat of paint and a feminist sheen, Charlie’s Angels is still, at its core, another installment of the campy franchise that so many fans know and love.
Last Christmas review: Emilia Clarke shines in this off-kilter rom-com. dark. Next