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Charlie's Angels

5/10

Stars: Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, Ella Balinska, Elizabeth Banks, Djimon Hounsou, Sam Claflin, Noah Centineo, Patrick Stewart

Director: Elizabeth Banks

The remake (which, along with the sequel, is fast becoming a favourite Hollywood genre) hits the screen again with yet another big-screen version of the TV series that made its small-screen bow in 1976 and then reappeared as big screen movies in 2000 and 2003.

This time around the crime-fighting females face danger and death when they set out to retrieve a state-of-the-art sustainable energy invention which has fallen into the wrong hands and has to be rescued before it can be employed as a weapon of mass destruction.

Producer Max Handelman, sums up the patently obvious subtext as 'Women can do anything', leaving director and writer (from a story by: Evan Spiliotopoulos and David Auburn) Banks to prove the point with a series of gaudy action sequences decorated with attractive location filming and a pace fast enough to keep genre fans entertained without having to strain their brains.

The new Angels ('They're just trained badass women') Kristen Stewart, Balinska and Scott (joined by Banks in front of the cameras playing Angels regular Bosley) do all that is required of them when it comes to advancing the serial' style story with effective enough comic-strip class action while Patrick Stewart, striking just the right balance between send-up and seriousness, makes a memorable second Bosley.

Plentiful action, rather than intellectual significance, is essentially what is on offer from Banks and her suitably enthusiastic players who deliver a lively, lurid and instantly forgettable action show with commendably straight faces,

Alan Frank

USA 2019. UK Distributor: Sony (Columbia). Colour.
118 minutes. Widescreen. UK certificate: 12A.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 1, Drugs 0, Swearing 1.

Review date: 01 Dec 2019