Charlie et ses drôles de dames

Head-spinning collage of technically marvelous effects in theatrical remake of cult late-'70s TV series. Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Lui are attractive, funny, resourceful, sexy and--most importantly (and surprisingly) quite convincing as super-detectives. Their case (involving rival software companies, a kidnapping, and the planned assassination of boss Charlie) doesn't make a whole lot of sense, and Bill Murray is out-of-it as confidante Bosley, but director McG's modern-comic action is so lightning-fast and silky smooth you may be having too much fun to notice. Some of the satire is actually rather smart, and the girls are game for just about anything. **1/2 from ****

I went to see 'Charlie's Angels' out of interest after all the interesting coverage from the set.

The laughably complex plot seems to flow along well with the movie. I found it particularly funny, and enjoyed all the fighting scenes and the fabulous soundtrack.

The performances impressed me the most. Everyone looks like they're having fun, but my favourite was Natalie (Cameron Diaz). When she smiles, you can't help but smile along with her. I also admired that the girls also did all their own stunts, something not too common in films. And despite the rumours, Bill Murray and the girls had good chemistry and he proved an able sidekick to the girls.

With that said, I'll say four words: Bring on the sequel!

Three women, detectives with a mysterious boss, retrieve stolen voice-ID software, using martial arts, tech skills and sex appeal.

This is not a good movie, but it is a fun, fluffy popcorn movie. The cast is incredible, the soundtrack top notch. I cannot even imagine the budget on this thing. And the inclusion of Bill Murray? That was inspiring.

And then there is Tom Green. Now, I actually like Green in small doses. But he is the odd man out here. The character of "the Chad" just seems wrong on so many levels. He disrupts the flow of the comedy and the gratuitous outfit changes. (Oddly, despite the obvious attempt to push the "sex appeal" angle, I feel like this film probably has more female than male fans.)

Three little girls have become three little ladies who work as special agents for Charlie (via intermediary Bosley). When they are contracted in to get evidence of Roger Corwin stealing the kidnapped Eric Knox's voice recognition device. The agents are successful but Knox turns out to have more sinister motives and the angels find themselves fighting to protect Charlie and Bosley.

Yet another in a line of film remake's of old TV shows, in the words of LL Cool J `yet another remake of an old TV show'. However this just about succeeds for one simple reason – it never tries to take itself seriously. This works because it can be camp, silly and OTT because we know it's meant to be. The plot is OK and has some reasonable twists but really the jokes and action move it along. The silliness can get a bit much at times and is a little tiring.

For example we have far too many shots of the girls tossing their hair, and too many scenes that mean nothing. Eg a high speed car chase ends on a bridge but it has no reason for happening and nothing happens as a result. The fights are very OTT and are very much a matrix rip off – they are only just saved by the tongue in cheek attitude of the film. But even then they still silly.

The cast are OK but really they are just playing daft. Rockwell is really good and Bill Murray saves the whole film by being really funny. Tom Green is in it because his girlfriend felt sorry for him and wanted him to be in a film that got shown in a cinema outside of the US, however his character is stupid and pointless. Wilson is good and LL Cool J makes a good cameo, but Tim Curry has been better.

Overall it's enjoyable if you're in the mood for silly popcorn trash. If you're not in the mood this will only serve to irritate you at how poor Hollywood blockbusters can be.

Fun movie. Strange but I liked it. Perfect cast, wouldn't change it. I can make fun of some scenes. Creepy thin man is extremely weird. Great villains. Great movie 8/10.