Fridae

Once upon a time, there were three very different Hollywood actresses who decided to team up for a big screen remake of the original 1976-1981 TV show starring a trio of va-va-voom female detectives. The result was the 2000 adrenalised chick flick and box-office smash known as Charlie's Angels.

Helmed by returning director McG, the sequel Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle reunites Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore in their none-too-taxing roles as perpetual sunshine Natalie Cook, ice maiden Alex Munday and tomboy Dylan Sanders respectively.

Featuring a storyline that is as flimsy as Demi Moore's black bathing suit in the movie, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle revolves around the search for a pair of stolen titanium HALO rings encrypted with the new identities of every person in the Federal Witness Protection Program. Assigned by Charlie (voiced by John Forsythe) to retrieve the rings, the lovely ladies from the Charles Townsend Agency race against time to complete their mission before the rings are sold to major crime families.

As investigations go underway, the Angels find themselves in many an outrageous situations which require them to go undercover as greased welders at a dock, chaste nuns at an orphanage (where the origin of hair fetishist The Thin Man [played by Crispin Clover] is revealed), Patpong strippers in a nightclub, dirt-bike racers and a police coroner's team.

Aided by their trusty Afro-haired colleague Bosley (Bernie Mac), the Angels soon discover that the mastermind behind the stolen rings is none other than Madison Lee (Demi Moore), a former Angel with sinful curves who appears to have stepped off a soft porn casting (cue: she lounges around in lingerie and fur while caressing her golden pistols and in the final scene plants one long wet lick on Natalie).

In fact, Demi Moore is so good at being bad that she threatens to steal the thunder from the goodie-two-shoes Angels, especially when delivering venom-dripping lines the likes of "Why be an Angel when I can play God?!" (gulp!), "I don't take orders from a speaker box." (ouch!) and "I was never good. I was great. (You go girl!)"

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As the action accelerates towards the inevitable confrontation between the good and bad Angels, the audience finds itself pulled along a joyride of action, fun and laughs. And what a ride it is! Ludicrous script notwithstanding, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle is a turbo-charged action comedy filled with enough fights, glamour and fun outfits to satisfy almost every demographic of the movie-going crowd.

For action junkies, there is the logic-defying opening sequence set in Mongolia, the far fetched fist-fight in a warehouse, the high-octane dirt bike chase complete with Matrix-like effects, and best of all, the claw-out-your-eyes rooftop catfights between Madison and the Angels that should have violence-addicted lesbians salivating for more.

For comedy fans, there are hilarious scenes aplenty. There is a cringe-inducing dance routine inspired by MC Hammer (80s rapper with pants made from hot air balloons), Cameron Diaz's utterly convincing turn as a gum chewing butch police sergeant and best of all, the scene between Alex's father (John Cleese) and her boyfriend (Matt LeBlanc) which ended up giving the former the impression that Alex is plying her trade in the world's oldest profession.

And for lesbians and confused gay men, there are enough gratuitous shots of Lucy Liu's cleavage, Cameron Diaz's butt and Demi Moore's reconstructed-and-remodeled body to keep them entertained for the entire duration of the movie.

Most importantly, in the midst of dodging bullets and kicking villainous butts, Natalie, Alex and Dylan still find time for some good-ole quality female bonding while doing what Angels do best: keep their angelic faces smear-free, flick their Pantene-conditioned hair and undergo more costume changes than Cher in her Farewell Concert.

A pure piece of cinematic popcorn heaven.