The New “Charlie’s Angels” Delivers Fights, Fashion, and Friendship

Elizabeth Banks’ entry into the Charlie’s Angels canon has palpable reverence for all the versions that come before it, seen both in references to previous films and the original TV show but also in the way it blends action, comedy, and camp all at once. But Banks’ film also adds some more serious moments to a mostly silly world, making for a tremendous balancing act of tone, style, and story.

To me, the marker of success for an action-comedy is in not just its ability to deliver both sides of this hyphenate genre over the course of the film but also on a more micro level. Individual fight scenes should have both, and the weaving together of the two should be rhythmic. This Charlie’s Angels accomplishes that over and over again. The action scenes are exquisite, and they have little pops of humor at just the right moments.

And all three leading women have been perfectly cast. As the hyperactive and filter-less Sabina Wilson, Kristen Stewart harnesses both the swagger and humor that’s at the surface of this movie perfectly. She brings a weird physicality to the role, and some of her funniest moments aren’t actual written jokes but just her casual delivery of things or the way she moves and makes sounds, like a moment when she’s running through a party and just shouting. Naomi Scott, playing the smart but in-over-her-head scientist and Angel in waiting Elena, also understands the movie’s playful tone. And the movie makes an extremely compelling case for Ella Balinska, who plays the tough and guarded Jane, to become a huge action star. She, too, has funny moments, but she’s especially captivating in the action scenes. And her monologue during her most important fight scene at the movie’s climax, doled out between punches and shattering glass, is one of the most quotable non-joke moments in the film.

Charlie’s Angels uses all the weapons in its arsenal to craft distinct, engaging fight scenes: there’s hand-to-hand combat, there’s use of the flashy gadgets, there’s improvised use of found objects, which is always my favorite thing to see in an action movie. There are occasional guns, too, but Charlie’s Angels goes the route I wish more modern action movies would by featuring more of guns scuttling across the floor than actually firing.

It wouldn’t be a Charlie’s Angels film without delivering on the fashion front. Sabina’s cheetah print leisure set and Jane’s sparkly purple suit are knockout numbers. Even the gold collar Elena wears goes from being a symbol of her capture to a statement jewelry piece once the threat is eliminated. A choreographed dance sequence just before the movie’s climax is also perfectly in-tone for this universe.

The movie is escapist action fun, and it never takes itself too seriously, but there’s still a little more happening under all the flash. For starters, it’s the rare action film that acknowledges that people die. Casualties happen in action—and even action-comedy—all the time, but unless it’s a significant character, there’s little by way of acknowledgement let alone processing. In Charlie’s Angels, Elena has a brief but discernible reaction to harming someone. Sabina and Jane are protective of her throughout, knowing that she hasn’t seen the same things they have. It’s a rare display of emotional realism for the movie, and that continues into some of the quieter scenes that actually get at these characters’ vulnerabilities.

After all, the real central character arc at play in the movie is the relationship between Sabina and Jane. They both become aware of their own flaws and are able to acknowledge them to each other. They’re the classic comedy duo, opposites in every way, but both good at their jobs despite their different approaches. Eventually, they learn from each other and can work together. An emotional scene between them happens at the heart of the movie, just after a literal explosion, and that juxtaposition of a big action moment with their bonding is unexpected and special. Their storyline is the closest thing to a traditional romantic arc in the film, and more movies should treat friendship with as much care and detail as romance.

And I’m going to go ahead and say it: Stewart’s Sabina is absolutely queer, even if it’s mostly subtextual. For some, there won’t be enough “evidence” to declare her a queer character, and I understand that to a degree. She’s certainly not out here kissing women between fight scenes (honestly, Cameron Diaz and Demi Moore come closer to kissing in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle than any two women in this movie do), but that shouldn’t really be the sole marker of a character’s queerness. We see Sabina rather obviously check out a woman at the gym, and a lot of what she says about her past is seemingly intentionally ambiguous about her sexuality. Also, I’m not so sure Elena doesn’t have an ex-girlfriend, too, but I don’t want to give too much away.

The movie’s plot follows a straightforward action narrative with effective, if not necessarily shocking, twists and just enough tension to thrill even when you know the Angels are going to win just about every fight. But the specificity of each of these three women and the importance their relationship dynamics adds another layer to the simple but satisfying action-comedy payoff of the film. Its corny pop-feminism detracts more than it adds to the film’s landscape (seriously, what is up with that stock footage Girl Power intro?), but overall, it hits all the right buttons for its genre and for the Charlie’s Angels canon in general while still standing on its own and playing to the strengths of its three stars.

Before you go! Autostraddle runs on the reader support of our AF+ Members. If this article meant something to you today — if it informed you or made you smile or feel seen, will you consider joining AF and supporting the people who make this queer media site possible?

Join AF+!

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya is the managing editor of Autostraddle and a lesbian writer of essays, short stories, and pop culture criticism living in Orlando. She is the assistant managing editor of TriQuarterly, and her short stories appear or are forthcoming in McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Joyland, Catapult, The Offing, and more. Some of her pop culture writing can be found at The A.V. Club, Vulture, The Cut, and others. You can follow her on Twitter or Instagram and learn more about her work on her website.

Kayla has written 940 articles for us.

11 Comments

  1. NUH UH, NUH, FUCKING, UH!

    SOME SPOILER DOTS
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    “You swiped right, I’M YOUR GIRLFRIEND NOW” was absolutely a written joke and it almost made me download tinder it was so great. Like, the movie was good but that line was GREAT

    • The rest of this review was obvs pretty accurate and thoughtful, but really, I may have upset the other people in the theater belly laughing about this particular Sabine bit

  2. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this movie <3 I'm sorry it flopped, but I see this as a new cult classic. Me and the ten other people who saw it in theaters will never be quiet about this movie.

  3. What do you mean, Elena might have an ex girlfriend?! My wife and I just saw this movie and are going crazy trying to figure out what this sentence could be referring to!

  4. literally sitting in the movie theater still and holy shit I love this movie so much! I love that Sabina spent most of it flirting with Elena, I love confused scruffy science boy, I love the camaraderie the Angels all share.

    when Boz said send the love I literally gasped! it reminded me of the part of pitch perfect 2 when all the Bella slums come on stage. Probably because I love those movies way too much

  5. Whoah, I finally watched this movie and wow it was really good! Why didn’t this get more hype!!! Good plot, good action, hott actresses & actors. I was also really impressed with Kristen Stewart’s comedic moments- I feel like she’s more known for her awkwardness. Elizabeth Banks is killer, and I loved that she mentions her age and mentions things women do, because it’s so real!

    I also agree that Sabina was gay- in the gym checking women out, hitting on Elena (but also just being friends, she was cool about it), her outfits & hair, and her distinct rejection of attention from men (Australian Johnny, the guards, etc). If only she could have kissed a woman or mentioned an ex-girlfriend…

    The music was also top notch- song choices as well as background soundtrack. I’ll definitely be watching Ella and Naomi too, to see what movies they’re in next!

Comments are closed.