Film

The ‘Charlie’s Angels’ Reviews Are In: Everyone Absolutely Loves Kristen Stewart

"I saw 'Charlie's Angels' tonight and my sexuality is like 97% straight but wowwwwww Kristen Stewart in this movie reeeeally nails that other 3"

by Joseph Earp  13 November 2019
Kristen Stewart Charlie's Angels

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2000’s Charlie’s Angels has become something of a cult hit.

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Despite being dismissed by critics at the time, the film has proven that it has real longevity — how else do you explain the fact that we’re still hot for Sam Rockwell or laughing at a drive-through joke some two decades later?

All of that makes the new Charlie’s Angels reboot, helmed by Elizabeth Banks and starring Kristen Stewart, that more of an appetising proposition. Clearly, we’re still hungry for retro spy escapades. The question is, can the new film deliver on the promise of the franchise?

And the answer, according to the majority of critics, is, um… maybe?

 Charlie’s Angels Drops The Camp

The key to the Charlie’s Angels franchise has always been high camp — this is a series that pivots on wigs, disguises, and theatrical heel turns. But Banks’ take on the story dismisses a lot of that to focus instead on precise character beats and a lot of action.

That move has alienated a lot of critics, particularly Michael Joshua Rowin of Slate, who gives the film possibly the most damning review. “In the end, the emancipatory aims of this reboot exist only in la-la land, its feminism failing to resonate beyond the cynicism of corporate rebranding,” writes Rowin, who sees the film as disappointingly by-the-numbers.

Ultimately, he mourns the fact that Banks ignores the “live-action candy-colored cartoon” of the first two films, in favour of making a world that “vaguely resembles our own.”

Less critical is Benjamin Lee of The Guardian, who embraces the new direction, while noting that the action is rather flat. He reckons that the film works best while it’s in the process of being watched — the kind of project that reduces when it’s in your mental rear-view mirror.

“It’s forgettable on reflection, but pacey in the moment, proving to be far less wretched a watch than so many other creatively bankrupt IP resurrections of late,” Lee writes.

Dovetailing into that realistic feel is the better, more contemporary politics, which is particularly appreciated by Den of Geek‘s Natalie Zutter. “Like Ocean’s 8 with its department-store cons and Met Gala jewel heist, Charlie’s Angels is speaking women’s languages; a side plot involves paying a contact with smuggled birth control and foot spas,” she writes.

Everyone Loves Kristen Stewart

The political aspect of the film that critics are less into is its LGBTQI dimension — though Kristen Stewart’s character is ostensibly queer, that’s never really fleshed out or even depicted onscreen. The only critic who feels positively about that choice is Beandrea July of The Hollywood Reporter who appreciates the fact that her sexuality is revealed “without much fanfare or woke sketch comedy.”

But hey, even if there’s some disappointment over that element, at least all the critics agree that Stewart is a genuine blast.

“Stewart is an odd choice for her role — Sabina, a wise-cracking loose-cannon spy/mercenary who doesn’t take much of anything seriously—but she sells it about three-quarters of the way,” writes Vanity Fair‘s Richard Lawson in a pretty positive review.

Perri Nemiroff of Collider takes it even further. “Stewart crushes it as the comedic relief in the film, delivering a whole batch of winning one-liners and just being an all-around sheer joy to watch in this type of film,” she writes.

And Owen Gleiberman of Variety is the most positive of all. “Stewart exudes a flashing-eyed magnetism that brushes her moodier mannerisms aside, yet she hasn’t let go of the thing they express — her need to survey every situation,” he writes.

And hey, personally, even if the rest of the film was a total mess — which, its worth noting, critics are not saying — I’d watch Stewart as a queer-coded super-spy with cool hair any day of the week.

Charlie’s Angels hits Aussie cinemas tomorrow.