Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle Wasted Demi Moore's Performance
Demi Moore was undeniably the highlight of Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, but her performance was wasted on the vapid blockbuster. The original Charlie's Angels TV show debuted in 1976 and followed three female private investigators who work for Charlie, a millionaire whose face is never revealed and who only communicates via a speaker box. The show is a classic of its era and made stars of Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson. Following several high-profile cast departures, ratings declined and the show was canceled in 1981. A revival series starring Annie Ilonzeh, Minka Kelly (Titans), and Rachael Taylor quickly came and went in 2011.
The original Charlie's Angels movie arrived in 2000 and starred Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu (Elementary). This McG directed blockbuster was complete eye candy with a nonsensical plot taking a backseat to the angels donning various disguises and indulging in some Matrix-style wire-fu. It also had a surprisingly great supporting cast, including Bill Murray, Sam Rockwell, and Crispin Glover. The movie didn't receive great reviews but is now considered to be an entertaining guilty pleasure.
The same can't be said for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, which arrived in 2003. This sequel follows the same basic formula of the original, but the charm was gone. Nearly every joke falls flat, the color palette is offputtingly over the top, and even the fight scenes are lame. The bright spot of the whole garish mess is Demi Moore (A Few Good Men) as the villain. Moore plays Madison Lee, a former angel who was once considered the best, but after being expelled by Charlie for being reckless, she went rogue.
Demi Moore is a hammy delight in Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, chewing the scenery and going toe to toe with her co-stars in the fight scenes. The movie comes alive whenever Madison appears, but her appearances are spread out. Full Throttle was touted as a major comeback vehicle for Moore, who experienced a few box-office duds with prior movies like Ridley Scott's G.I. Jane and Passion Of Mind. While her performance as Lee tended to receive good reviews, the movie performed below box-office expectations and it didn't really lead to better roles for the actress.
Demi Moore's fun performance was wasted on Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, which caused the franchise to stall for several years. A new movie is being released in November 2019 from director Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect 2). The movie is said to be a continuation of both the original series and the McG movies, so a surprise cameo or two is possible.