Charlie’s Angels is back with a fresh new concept: Elizabeth Banks
Banks plays a key role: Bosley to the Angels Sabina (Kristen Stewart), Elena (Naomi Scott) and Jane (Ella Balinska).
The wait is finally over for the "Charlie's Angels" fans as it will find its way into UK cinemas on November 29, following its release in the US next Friday (November 15).
Watch the trailer of "Charlie's Angels" here
Directed by Elizabeth Banks, who also wrote the screenplay, from a story by Evan Spiliotopoulos and David Auburn. It is the third installment in the "Charlie's Angels" film series, which is a continuation of the story that began with the television series of the same title and the theatrical films, "Charlie's Angels" (2000) and "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle" (2003).
Starring Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and newcomer Ella Balinska, the new Charlie's Angels will see the Townsend Agency expand internationally, with multiple teams of highly-trained Angels taking on some of the toughest missions from around the world.
The movie is a little bit different from the earlier version as the director herself has explained. She has opened up about the challenge of striking the right tone in the new movie, saying she didn't want to make a "campy" film.
"The blend of action and comedy I think is always a little scary. I set out to make an action movie first, but that was a lot of fun. I think it is funnier than people expect it to be. Finding that right tone was the most important thing to me. I think that "Charlie's Angels" generally right now, in the zeitgeist, feels kitschy and winky and campy. I really wanted to ground it. I really felt like the whole franchise needed… the action needed to feel real, that there were real stakes for the characters, but also balance it with what people expect from "Charlie's Angels".
"I wanted the energy of the movie to feel very inclusive," she continued. "I wanted to sort of say the Angels can come from anywhere.Charlie is not just a man anymore, but more of a movement. Charlie is more of an idea. That was an overarching theme in the film."
Banks also opened up about Kristen Stewart's character Sabina Wilson, saying she didn't want to "label" the character after rumours that Sabina would be the first LGBTQ+ Angel in the franchise's history.
"I just felt like she's almost the way Kristen is. I don't feel there is a label that fits her. The only thing that was important to me was to not label it as anything. Its fine if the media wants to label it , I think that's okay, but I didn't do that. I just let her be herself in the film. Yeah, I know, and I am." Banks explained.
Watching Charlie's Angels, it's impossible to question her ambition. Charles Townsend's investigative agency has expanded and there are now groups of Angels – all smart, highly trained women – across the world. Banks plays a key role: Bosley to the Angels Sabina (Kristen Stewart), Elena (Naomi Scott) and Jane (Ella Balinska).Some of the film's details – for example, a female employee discovers a sinister plot in a large tech company, but is dismissed by her male bosses – might be construed as political. Is that impossible to avoid in 2019? "I'm not making any grand statements," she says. "I happened to make an action movie about corporate malfeasance that also happens to star women and everyone's like, 'What a political statement!' And I'm like, 'Is it?' If they were all men and it was the exact same story, it wouldn't be very political, would it? I wanted to make a broader, appealing movie rather than something actually political."
She finds it interesting that "simply because I made a movie that stars women, that it's feminist enough. That's something I heard when I was putting the movie together. Like, 'You're lucky you're getting to make it, it's feminist enough. You don't have to push it.' And I was like, 'I don't think I'm pushing it at all!'"Banks has ditched the male gaze of Charlie's Angels past and has loaded the film with "sneaky feminist ideas". "Little things," she says, "like, 'Don't forget to smile!'" Because the reality for female directors, she says, is that they are still not afforded the same opportunities as men. Even those who get to direct a juggernaut like Charlie's Angels.
With Ariana Grande producing the soundtrack, "To All the Boys I've Loved Before's" Noah Centino playing a love interest , and other fitting cameos, Banks has equipped "Charlie's Angels 2019" with enough hooks for its young adult audience, harmonizing the weighty messages with the franchise's ever-uplifting depiction of female partnership.