Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is a 2003 American spy action comedy film directed by McG and written by John August, and Cormac and Marianne Wibberley. It is the sequel to 2000's Charlie's Angels and the second installment in the Charlie's Angels film series, which is a continuation of the story that began with the television series of the same name by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts.
In an ensemble cast, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu reprise their roles as the three women working for the Townsend Agency. Crispin Glover, Matt LeBlanc and Luke Wilson also reprise their roles from the first film in addition to Bill Murray appearing through archival footage with Bernie Mac, Demi Moore, Justin Theroux and Robert Patrick joining the cast. Jaclyn Smith reprised her role as Kelly Garrett from the original series for a cameo appearance. It was John Forsythe's final film role before he retired from acting in 2006, followed by his death in 2010.
It was released in the United States on June 27, 2003, by Sony Pictures Releasing under its Columbia Pictures label and was number one at the box office for that weekend, also making a worldwide total of $259 million. Like its predecessor, the film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the performances of Diaz, Barrymore, Liu, and Moore, but criticism aimed at the "bland plot and lack of sense".
Contents
Plot
Three years after the events of the first film, after rescuing U.S. Marshal Ray Carter in Mongolia, the Angels (Natalie Cook, Dylan Sanders, and Alex Munday) and Jimmy Bosley (John Bosley's adoptive brother) are sent to recover titanium rings stolen from the United States Department of Justice that can display the people listed in the witness protection program. DOJ official William Rose Bailey and a protected witness, Alan Caulfield are among those killed.
At Caulfield's house in San Bernardino, the Angels track his assassin Randy Emmers to a beach where they meet former Angel Madison Lee who has a bikini stand off with Natalie as Dylan and Alex smile and watch the two of them staring at each other. During the Coal Bowl motorcycle race, Emmers targets another witness named Max Petroni, and the Angels try to intervene.
Emmers is killed by the Thin Man (believed to be dead after the events of the first film) because he was protecting Max. Inside Emmers' pocket, the Angels discover the photos of Caulfield, Max, and, surprisingly, Dylan, under her birth name, Helen Zaas.
Dylan reveals that she is a protected witness after sending her former boyfriend, Irish mob leader Seamus O'Grady to prison. He has since targeted those who wronged him, including Dylan and Max, whose parents O'Grady killed. As Max previously testified against O'Grady, he is sent to the home of Bosley's mother for protection.
At a monastery, the Angels learn about the Thin Man's past from the Mother Superior, who reveals his name, Anthony. Afterwards, the Angels track O'Grady's mob at San Pedro and manage to get the rings, but O'Grady threatens Dylan with the murder of everyone she loves.
Natalie attends her boyfriend, Pete Kominsky's, high school reunion at Hermosa Beach. There, she overhears his friends implying he might propose, which she feels is too fast since they just moved in together. Alex returns home to her actor boyfriend, Jason, while Dylan leaves the Angels and heads to Mexico.
When Natalie, Bosley, and Alex read the letter she left for them, they realize that Dylan fled to protect them. Natalie asks Charlie how O'Grady got out of jail, and Charlie reveals someone had him released on good behaviour. While hiding out in Mexico, Dylan is convinced to return after seeing an apparition of former Angel Kelly Garrett.
Cast
Cameron Diaz as Natalie Cook
Drew Barrymore as Dylan Sanders / Helen Zaas
Lucy Liu as Alexandra "Alex" Munday
Bernie Mac as Jimmy Bosley, successor and adoptive brother of John Bosley
Demi Moore as Madison Lee, a former Angel turned independent operative who secretly loves Natalie
Justin Theroux as Seamus O'Grady, Dylan's ex-boyfriend and head of the O'Grady Irish Mob
Robert Patrick as Raymond "Ray" Carter, a corrupt U.S. Marshal
Crispin Glover as the Thin Man / Anthony, a mysterious assassin
Rodrigo Santoro as Randall "Randy" Emmers, a surfer assassin hired by Madison
John Forsythe as the voice of Charles "Charlie" Townsend, the owner of the Townsend agency
Matt LeBlanc as Jason Gibbons, Alex's boyfriend
Luke Wilson as Peter "Pete" Komisky, Natalie's boyfriend
John Cleese as Mr. Munday, Alex's father
Shia LaBeouf as Maxwell "Max" Petroni, an orphaned teenager targeted by the mob after his testimony
Ja'Net DuBois as Momma Bosley, Jimmy's biological mother and John Bosley's adoptive mother
Production
Charlie's Angels: Animated Adventures, an animated prequel series explains how the Angels got there and their mission, concluded by the very introduction of the film.
The Seamus O'Grady prison introduction scene is a direct reference to Robert De Niro's prison-set introduction in Cape Fear. Whenever O'Grady (Justin Theroux) appears, he is accompanied by Bernard Hermann's theme from Cape Fear.
Madison Lee was created with Demi Moore in mind.[1]
The scene where the Angels go to investigate the body of Agent Caufield dressed as crime-scene professionals is a homage/parody of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, complete with the theme "Who Are You" by The Who.
The song "Feel Good Time" is the film's main track, and is performed by Pink.
The Thin Man character perhaps pays homage to the Thin Man in the 1927 German expressionist film Metropolis, directed by Fritz Lang. In the film, Thin Man is ordered by Joh Frederson, master of Metropolis, to spy on his son Freder.
Reception
Box office
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle collected $37.6 million during its opening weekend. The film had a production budget of $120 million. It grossed $100,830,111 at the United States box office and had to depend on earnings from the international box office to make a profit. By the end of its run, the film had grossed $259,175,788 worldwide, underperforming its predecessor by $5 million.
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 41% of 182 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Eye candy for those who don't require a movie to have a plot or for it to make sense." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 48 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Roger Ebert gave the film 2+1⁄2 stars out of 4, a higher score than the half star he gave to the first film. Ebert explained: "I realized I did not hate or despise the movie, and [...] I decided that I sort of liked it because of the high spirits of the women involved". In a 2 out of 5 review, Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times stated that "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is like eating a bowl of Honeycomb drenched in Red Bull -- a dizzying mouthful of unabashed silliness that leads to an equally precipitous crash once the buzz wears off after the film's first hour". Amy Dawes of Variety magazine wrote: "Bigger, sleeker and better than the first, sequel Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is a joyride of a movie that takes the winning elements of the year 2000 hit to the next level".
Accolades
The film received seven nominations at the 24th Golden Raspberry Awards including Worst Picture, Worst Actress for both Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Excuse for an Actual Movie (All Concept/No Content), winning two trophies for Worst Remake or Sequel and Worst Supporting Actress for Demi Moore. The film also received seven nominations at the 2003 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards: Worst Director (McG), Worst Actress (Barrymore), Worst Screenplay for a Film Grossing More Than $100 Million Worldwide Using Hollywood Math, Most Intrusive Musical Score, Worst Sequel, Least "Special" Special Effects, and Worst On-Screen Group (the Angels). It won for Worst Director and Most Intrusive Musical Score.
Demi Moore was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain, but lost against co-star Lucy Liu for her role as O-Ren Ishii in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Volume 1.
Home media
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle was released on both VHS and DVD in widescreen and full-screen formats on October 21, 2003.
Soundtrack
Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is the soundtrack album to the 2003 film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. The album was released on June 24, 2003, by Columbia Records and Sony Music Soundtrax.
Songs in the film not included on the soundtrack:
"Who Are You" by The Who
"Thunder Kiss '65" by White Zombie
"Firestarter" and "Breathe" by The Prodigy
"Block Rockin' Beats" by The Chemical Brothers
"Misirlou" by Dick Dale
"Wild Thing" by Tone Lōc
"Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" by Dr. Dre featuring Snoop Dogg
"Flashdance... What a Feeling" by Irene Cara
"The Pink Panther Theme" by Henry Mancini
"The Lonely Goatherd" by Rodgers and Hammerstein
"Sleep Now in the Fire" by Rage Against the Machine
"Mickey" by Toni Basil
"Planet Claire" by The B-52s
"Sleep Walk" by Santo & Johnny
"Looks That Kill" by Mötley Crüe
Sequel
Following the release of Full Throttle, the franchise was confirmed for a third and fourth film, but in 2004 the idea was canceled.
In 2015, Sony began developing the new Charlie's Angels installment. Elizabeth Banks directed and produced the film with her husband Max Handelman producing. Initially developed as a reboot of the franchise, the film is a continuation of the original TV series and the McG-directed 2000s films.
The third installment stars Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, and Ella Balinska as the new generation of Angels. Banks and Djimon Hounsou also star as Charlie's assistants, known as Bosleys, while Patrick Stewart replaced Bill Murray in the role of John Bosley and Jaclyn Smith reprised her role as Kelly Garrett for the second time for a cameo appearance. It is also the first installment to feature Robert Clotworthy as the voice of Charlie, replacing John Forsythe, following his death in 2010.
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