Watched Elizabeth Banks' Charlie's Angels last night and, while not the Skyfall of the franchise I was hoping for, there was good mix of action, seriousness and humor. The action sequences were on par with the James Bond and Mission: Impossible franchises. (Like Tom Cruise, newcomer Ella Balinska did her own stunts...). I read that Drew Barrymore didn't want her Angels having guns despite the originals carrying them as former cops. (Hell, Julie the Model carried one even before she became a licensed PI...)
What I didn't expect was Kristen Stewart would fill more of a comic relief role. Instead of the dark and broody persona I've come to expect from watching her as Joan Jett in The Runaways and in movies such as Camp X-Ray, was replaced by an Ellen DeGeneres impression that gives Kate McKinnon a run for her money. (Whether it was intentional or not, I'm not kidding...) I realized this was done because Balinska's performance was seemingly inspired by Michael Dorn as Worf, which I loved, so producers did the right thing for diversity's sake.
What I also didn't expect was this movie confirms the TV show and the Barrymore films are all the same universe with one caveat: Patrick Stewart was John Bosley the past 43 years and David Doyle and Bill Murray do not exist. Oh, what could have been....
Major Spoilers from here on out!
At one point in the film you are led to believe Elizabeth Bank's (Codename) Bosley is a mole which, given she wrote and directed the film, would have been a bold choice. Turns out it was John Bosley the entire time. Yes, they pulled the controversial page from the first Mission: Impossible and made a classic character the villain but here's the difference: To me, Bosley was an just an annoying sidekick and not as beloved a character as Jim Phelps. Point 2: It was Patrick Frickin' Stewart! Neither Doyle or Murray could have pulled it off as well.
Point 3 was his motivation. What the "Council of Bosley" (my term, not theirs) know but the Angels apparently don't, is that Charlie is dead. John was under the impression he'd become the new "Charlie" and it didn't happen so he decided to start his own organization. Instead, the baton was passed to the longest serving Angel, Kelly Garret (played by my "birthday twin" Jaclyn Smith) using a voice modulator.
Trivia to close:
When the late Farrah Fawcett was approached by Barrymore or whomever to cameo in movie, her condition was to be the voice of Charlie. As John Forsythe was still living at the time, the answer was no. When they asked Kate Jackson, she wanted to be the villain... I'm thinking now she and Demi Moore, as fallen Angel Madison, should have appeared in this movie as part of Bosley's new organization...
What I didn't expect was Kristen Stewart would fill more of a comic relief role. Instead of the dark and broody persona I've come to expect from watching her as Joan Jett in The Runaways and in movies such as Camp X-Ray, was replaced by an Ellen DeGeneres impression that gives Kate McKinnon a run for her money. (Whether it was intentional or not, I'm not kidding...) I realized this was done because Balinska's performance was seemingly inspired by Michael Dorn as Worf, which I loved, so producers did the right thing for diversity's sake.
What I also didn't expect was this movie confirms the TV show and the Barrymore films are all the same universe with one caveat: Patrick Stewart was John Bosley the past 43 years and David Doyle and Bill Murray do not exist. Oh, what could have been....
Major Spoilers from here on out!
At one point in the film you are led to believe Elizabeth Bank's (Codename) Bosley is a mole which, given she wrote and directed the film, would have been a bold choice. Turns out it was John Bosley the entire time. Yes, they pulled the controversial page from the first Mission: Impossible and made a classic character the villain but here's the difference: To me, Bosley was an just an annoying sidekick and not as beloved a character as Jim Phelps. Point 2: It was Patrick Frickin' Stewart! Neither Doyle or Murray could have pulled it off as well.
Point 3 was his motivation. What the "Council of Bosley" (my term, not theirs) know but the Angels apparently don't, is that Charlie is dead. John was under the impression he'd become the new "Charlie" and it didn't happen so he decided to start his own organization. Instead, the baton was passed to the longest serving Angel, Kelly Garret (played by my "birthday twin" Jaclyn Smith) using a voice modulator.
Trivia to close:
When the late Farrah Fawcett was approached by Barrymore or whomever to cameo in movie, her condition was to be the voice of Charlie. As John Forsythe was still living at the time, the answer was no. When they asked Kate Jackson, she wanted to be the villain... I'm thinking now she and Demi Moore, as fallen Angel Madison, should have appeared in this movie as part of Bosley's new organization...
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