Its been Sixteen years since audience last saw the angels on the big screen with their roles being played by Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, and Cameron Diaz. While the first
Charlie's Angels movie worked as being hip and having fun with its concept at the time, the second film was a complete mess that turned out less of a profit than the originals gross and got far worse reviews. While the 2000 Charlie's
Angels movie was nothing to write home about, it was self-aware in how it mixed an attractive cast with tongue-in-cheek humor while blending glossy yet impressive action sequences. It was a slick film and ultimately fun to watch despite the lack of originality. Bring the franchise up to modern times in a post 9/11 era as well as a post Me Too generation, the Angels are back and ready for another chance to dominate the big screen. Here we have Elizabeth Banks from 2017's
Power Rangers as well as that film and
Aladdin's Naomi Scott teaming up with
Twilight's Kirsten Stewart in hopes of rebooting the franchise for today's audiences. The new
Charlie's Angels trailer not only looks appealing with the main female stars, but also seems to capitalize on the strong push for feminism as well as delivering the middle finger towards sexism and misogny. These Angels have a mission to complete and aren't letting anyone and anything get in the way. The trailer is jam-packed full of action and appealing side actors such as
Blood Diamond's Djimon Honsou and
Star Trek and
X-Men's Patrick Stewart are used to help draw the audience interest in the reboot. So far its working.
The trailer opens up with Kirsten Stewart's character Sabina Wilson declaring in a conversation she's having with a character she's intercepting that women can do anything much to the disapproval of the other character who declares just because women can do anything doesn't mean they should. Stewart's character is left with no choice but to play along by laughing at his response and using her sex appeal to not only distract the person shes intercepting but his bodyguards as well. When she manages to restrain the person in question, he asks who she is to which she replies she's just the decoy with the other Angels swooping in to take out the guards. Once they finish they are greeted by Patrick Stewart's character Bosley (One of three, Djimon Honsou plays the other Bosley) who declares they did an outstanding job. Kirsten Stewart's character removes her wig signifying that her mission is complete before the trailer cuts to the Columbia Pictures logo. Stewart's character is then informed by the second Bosley played by Honsou that she has a new client with the trailer introducing Naomi Scott's character Elena. Elena tells Sabina that she can't sleep at night and that she's a lead programmer on a product that can revolutionize the power industry. As she tells Sabina this, Sabina and another angel are shown taking pictures and spying on an individual at a bookstore while disguised as a waitress. Elena warns the second Bosley that there is a strong possibility that the product can be weaponized. Bosley stops her immediately and says they must leave as the female waitress reaches for a gun and attempts to shoot the man with the suitcase who fights back instantly. The trailer then cuts to a car chase in which Elena questions the woman disguised as a waitress who reveals to her that shes not a waitress, her name is Jane. Jane then takes out a huge gun and fires back at the car pursuing them with the opposite car pulling out a larger gun with Elena screaming for dear life in the background.
The trailer then cuts to Elizabeth Bank's character who reveals to Elena character when asked who she is that she's Bosley (Confusing right?). Banks introduces Elena's character to the Angels team citing that the reason they exist is because local law enforcement can't keep up with them. Intercutting with moments of action, a nervous Elena asks the angels if they are female spies in a comedic tone saying lady spies to which Banks Bosley shows her badge. The angels are then shown in action knocking someone out and stealing their security clearance while dressing up in white suits wearing wigs. Banks Bosley tells the girls that they must get the weapon before it becomes a bad guys new toy with the Angels bringing Elaine to their closet of disguises with Bosley in the background declaring that the Angels need weapons and wigs. The trailer intercuts these moments of dialogue with shots of the Angels in action with Patrick Stewart's Bosley getting a kick out of the girls kicking ass citing them as being feisty. The girls are shown to be going through their first closet of disguises before the reveal of a second closet that essentially looks like a weapons armony much to the shock of Elena's character. The trailer capitalizes on the goofiness as well as the innocence of Scott's character by having her reach for a box of mints only to have them knocked out of her hand by the weapons caretaker who warns her that some of the things in the closet can explode. The trailer then reveals quick cuts showing the angels in disguises at a party intercutting with them fighting and having fun goofing around with each other. The action is intensified in the latter part of the trailer with a jeep exploding, the girls shown to be parachuting out of a jet, them singing in a jeep, and Banks character loading a gun. Elena's character is shown to be the one angel that progresses in the trailer from being bumbling and completely oblivious to the angels operation to her participating in the action with her admitting that kicking someones ass feels nice. The trailer closes out with Bank's Bosley in a car chase with Sabina, Jane, and Elena standing together in the famous
Charlies Angels pose with the logo coming right afterwards. The trailer ends with the familiar voice of Charlie appearing on the radio greeting the angels to which they reply back with excitement.
The trailer for the new Charlie's
Angels successfully makes the case that the audience should give the new brand of girls a chance with emphasis being placed on the fact that the era has changed from the last time the girls were shown with the cheesiness factor still being intact. What separates this film from the previous Charlie's
Angels movies outside of the fact that its a whole new cast and filmmakers, is that the new film goes out of its way to show how the new team assembles with the girls coming together through the events shown in the trailer and ultimately forming their team. From the looks of the clips, the movie almost plays off like an origin story for the angels. The trailer plays off almost like a checklist for what's needed in order to make a successful
Charlie's Angels flick with a trio of beautiful women combined with explosions, car chases, appealing side characters played by strong actors to themes regarding feminism and girl power being proudly stated throughout the trailer. The opening dialogue between Stewart's character and the guy she's distracting almost feels like a wink at the Me Too movement along with being a current slam on misogyny. One thing that's certain from watching the new trailer is that this film is not meant for everyone. It has a specific audience that its aiming for which are not just fans of the old 1970's show and the 2000's movies but the younger female generation of today who have yet to experience watching the Angels on the big screen. This movie was made for them with the trailer showing the same style of tongue-in cheek humor from the original movie, the main actresses sex appeal and talent being utilized, and slick action remaining intact. Much like the 2000 film, the new Charlie's
Angels knows exactly what kind of film it wants to be and doesn't try to shy away from it nor be anything more than just a fun ride full of beautiful women kicking ass and explosions. The trailer also shows the team behind the new films paying homage to the 2000 movie with the girls flying out of the jet that will remind fans of that films opening scene. If Elizabeth Banks and Columbia are hoping that this film will relaunch the franchise and become a fresh start for a new series of Charlie's
Angels films, they certainly are off to an interesting yet promising start as they have the right actresses in the leads with Naomi Scott in particular being a rising star coming off Disney's live-action
Aladdin along with a strong supporting cast. The film from the looks of it has all the essential ingredients needed to make for a successful Charlie's
Angels movie, its just a question of whether audiences feel motivated enough to become invested in this series again despite there not be much substance beyond the look of it. Charlie's
Angels opens in theaters November 17, 2019
Here is a link to watch the trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSUq4VfWfjE
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