Charlie’s Angels soar to new heights on adventure

They’re beautiful, they’re funny and they kick ass. Who else can say "Good morning, Charlie!" more sweetly than Charlie’s Angels? Last June 27, Natalie(Cameron Diaz), Dylan (Drew Barrymore) and Alex (Lucy Liu) returned to the big screen in a sequel to the Charlie’s Angels blockbuster three years ago to captivate moviegoers anew with their charm, wit and tons of adrenaline. This time, however, the three charming crime fighters make hearts beat faster and spirits soar higher as they take us to new heights of adventure at full throttle.

For their assignment this time, the Angels head to Mongolia to rescue a US marshal taken hostage there. Returning to the newly built Charles Townsend Agency, the girls are assigned to reclaim two stolen titanium rings which contain vital encrypted information regarding the identity of every single person who has been under the Federal Witness Protection Program. When dead bodies start turning up, the girls realize that time is running out. They must get hold of the rings before these get sold to the top mob families around the world. Little did they know they were up against fallen angel Madison Lee (Demi Moore).

As seamless as the movie may look, making it appear so was no easy task. Leading the way is director McG, who’s got a wealth of advertising and music video experiences to his name. Pushing the film to new heights, McG worked with producers Leonard Goldberg, Nancy Junoven and Drew Barrymore as well as executive producers Jenno Topping and Patrick Crowley to give movie fans something exhilaratingly fresh. Joining the crew for more heart-stopping action is expert stunt coordinator Mic Rodgers. Rejoining the girls is Hong Kong fight choreographer Cheung-Yan Yeun, who helped hone the girls’ martial arts skills. Yeun reportedly trained the girls in the Wu-Shu style of fighting, which is an offshoot of kung fu. This style suited the girls just fine as it is said to be dance-oriented. More, Yeun adapted each of the girls’ fighting styles to their personalities. Another old face in the crew is Joseph Alusi, who designed yet another fabulous set of outfits for the whole cast.

Choosing the best location for the movie also proved to be critical. Serving as the Mongolian border is the famed Hansen Dam in San Fernando Valley. This 10,475-foot-long, 62-year-old dam is supposedly used by the army corps of engineers for flood control. With careful planning and a lot of ingenuity, location manager Kenneth D. Lavet and his team worked arduously to transform the dam into a set where the Angels deliver the first of their many action sequences. Doing a set for the motocross scenes also posed a big challenge. For this, the crew found an old coalfield in San Pedro and immediately transformed it into a 360-degree stadium made of coal. Among the other familiar Los Angeles sights shown in the movie are the Southwest Marine dockside, the Griffith Park Observatory, which became Madison Lee’s hideaway, and the Sheets-Goldstein home, which served as Alex’s home.

There are old and new faces in the cast. Rejoining the girls are Alex’s boyfriend Jason (Matt Le Blanc), Natalie’s now live-in partner Pete (Luke Wilson), the speaker box representing Charlie (with voice by John Forsythe) and the "Thin Man," played by Crispin Glover. There’s a new Bosley in the person of actor Bernie Mac. Alex’s father is played by John Cleese while Tyler Hoechlin plays the 15-year-old Max whom the girls had to protect all through the movie.

Of course, a new assignment for the girls means new villains to kick ass with. Among them are the sultry ex-angel Madison Lee, Dylan’s ex-beloved Seamus O’Grady (Justin Theroux) and the gorgeously tough Randy Emmers (Brazilian star Rodrigo Santoro).

Making a cameo appearance are original Charlie’s Angel Jaclyn Smith as her former Kelly Garrett self, Bruce Willis as a federal agent, rockstar Pink and a number of motocross and supercross stars like Jeremy McGrath, Ricky Carmichael, Ronnie Renner, Nick Wey, Johnny O’Mara, Trevor Vines, Ryan Hughes and Chris Gosselaar.

I must say I had a blast watching the movie. The production design was really incredible. I especially liked Madison Lee’s place because of the eerie glow it exuded. On the other hand, the office of the new Charles Townsend Agency looked really cozy. Demi Moore was gorgeous, even more so was her red Ferrari, which reportedly cost a cool $850,000. However, I thought that the girls’ flying stunts were a bit exaggerated. Nevertheless, the execution of the motocross scene was really fantastic. The sounds deserve the two thumbs up they’ve been given by critics, except for one sour note: They could have chosen a better background than that song from the Sound of Music for that scene where the girls pretended to be nuns. The sequencing was well-executed, but I must say that the last part could have been prolonged to raise the level of excitement a few more bars.

Overall, it’s a movie worth watching especially with people closest to you. After all, the Angels don’t only care about kicking ass. They also value family and friends more than anything else. So grab a ticket, get a popcorn bucket and enjoy the movie!

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With regard to last week’s article on American Idol, the guy whose photo appeared as RJ Helton is actually Judge Simon Cowell. In addition, "American Idol" finished its Season 2 last year with Rubben Studdard becoming the second to earn the American Idol title. A third season is on the way.

E-mail me at ice_wave_42@yahoo.com.