Release Date: November 15th, 2019
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, Ella Balinska, Elizabeth Banks, Dijmoon Hounsou, Sam Claflin, Noah Centineo, Patrick Stewart
Director: Elizabeth Banks
Studio: Columbia Pictures, Perfect World Pictures, 2.0 Entertainment, Brownstone Productions, Cantillon Company
Distributor: Sony Pictures Releasing
Spoilers: Low
IMDB| Rotten Tomatoes | Wikipedia
Rating: ★★★★☆
The first thing that people said when I told them I was going to see this movie was that they were unsure of it because they didn’t like Kristen Stewart. And I get it.
I don’t agree, but I get it.
I think all the KStew hate stems from the greatest film series of all time (admittedly written by a Mormon housewife involving with sparkly vampires): Twilight.
As a Twilight fan, I am the first to admit that KStew did not have a lot of good script material to work with. Couple that with laughable special effects and RPatz’ best approximation of a constipated sculpture, of COURSE she was going to get a bum rap.
I think the other half, probably more, of the hate comes directly from sexism.
She doesn’t adhere to the things we’re used to seeing from A-list actresses: she’s not bubbly in interviews, she’s not projecting traditional ‘feminine’ qualities in her dress, she’s not demure, or concerned with being ‘nice’ or even conventionally liked. She’s so uniquely ‘her’ and doesn’t play to an audience for mass-consumption. She seems to not care what we think of her, she won’t apologize for it, and that’s just not what women are socialized to do.
She can make people uncomfortable. She made me uncomfortable until I realized that it’s pretty screwed up that I was judging someone based on how I think they should act and perform for me. And people, including me, justify that discomfort by backing it up with her ‘poor acting’ and lack of emotion in Twilight.
Well, NOT ANYMORE, FOLKS! Kristen Stewart can not only act, she can steal the scene with comic relief. She’s the star of Charlie’s Angels and I’m so happy the world can finally see her shine.
Charlie’s Angels was a ton of fun. I’m all about it. It captured the spirit of the 2000’s series and had standout moments of its own.
Charlie’s Angels follows the adventures of two secret super-spy agents (Angels) at the Townsend Agency. After a whistleblower comes to the Agency for help to stop a dangerous product from going to market, the Angels spring into action to steal the prototypes and stop the bad guys.
I loved this movie- Kristen Stewart plays the hilariously offbeat Sabine to Ella Balinska’s stodgy Jane. They both mother the overeager Elena, played by Naomi Scott. Elizabeth Banks as Bosley glues the group together- delivering one of the best lines in the entire history of cinema about eskimo kisses.
As for the action, it was there in spades. Car chases and shootouts and horse races pumped the film with adrenaline. But where the movie really shone were in the quieter, stealth mission moments. There was an excellent switcheroo scene that gradually built tension, and another scene infiltrating a synchronized dance party – both which delivered really satisfying ‘a-ha,’ heist-style endings.
What I particularly loved was that the movie never took itself too seriously. I knocked a star off because some of the writing was clunky or too on-the-nose, but when that happened it always redeemed itself with a funny one-liner. I also think there was a real lost potential for more of the clever spy stuff, but overall, it was funnier than not, and it left me grinning nearly the entire time. The new Angels are smooth and sleek and sexy- pure wish fulfillment goodness. Charlie sends love, but he should also send me a sequel.
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