CHARLIE’S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE (PG-13) **

Directed by McG. 105 minutes.

Starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Bernie Mac, Luke Wilson, Crispin Glover, Demi Moore, Matt Le Blanc, John Cleese, Robert Patrick, and Justin Theroux. Released by Columbia Pictures.

The good news is that Full Throttle is better than the original Charlie’s Angels movie. The bad news is that it is still not all that good. This sequel to the 2000 box office hit is a movie for people who cannot sit still for more than twenty-five seconds. They will feel quite comfortable in the presence of director McG’s second entry into the franchise. Constant explosions, dance sequences, flashy camera angles, high speed chases, kung fu kicks all over the screen, scantily-clad women, and a plethora of classic rock and 1980s songs booming from the never ending soundtrack, are just a few of the elements that the director constantly fills the screen with. In some ways, there is never particularly a dull moment here, but at the same time, there is never a particularly interesting one either.

The sequel ups the ante of the first film by a considerable margin. There was obviously more money spent here than the first time around, so the explosions and fight sequences are more elaborate and more constant and the special effects are plenty. I’ll grant Full Throttle this compliment- while in the first film, the fight sequences were completely over the top, looking fake with its use of CGI effects, the fight scenes here are much, much better. Though it is still difficult to care about any of the characters involved in said sequences, the choreography is a major improvement this time around. A fight between the trio- Alex (Lucy Liu), Dylan (Drew Barrymore), and Natalie (Cameron Diaz)- and some Irish hoodlums is pretty exciting, as well as the final fight between them and the film’s villain, a scowling and growling and incredibly thin Demi Moore.

The humor, however, is not on the up and up in this latest installment. The jokes are still incredibly obvious, the double entendres just missing the mark, and Bernie Mac, whom we all know to be a talented comedian, is wasted just as the brilliant Bill Murray was last time around. He has his moments, though they do not compensate for the other nonsense that the filmmakers have him take part in. There is one scene. Count it. Just one in which I actually laughed. Though I will not go into detail over the context, I will say that it involves a misunderstanding regarding occupations as Alex tries explaining to her father (John Cleese) what she does for a living. By all reason, this scene should fail, using a tired movie cliché for humor, but somehow works. Another joke revolving around Dylan’s former name made me smile as well. Other jokes, used in the last film where they were not particularly funny either, fall flat. Cameron Diaz shaking her rump to music is still not very funny.

There are a lot of cameos in this film. Some of them are amusing. Bruce Willis shows up to be killed off pretty quickly, but the fact that he lets himself be killed off by his ex-wife Moore shows that he is at least a good sport. Crispin Glover, one of moviedom’s most beloved wierdos, shows up as The Thin Man again, though his character has little to do. That is okay though because Glover, as always, steals his scenes away from everyone else present. Other fine actors, such as Robert Forster and Jaclyn Smith, as well as singer Pink are simply there to show that the casting director knows a lot of people. The most unwelcome cameo in the film might just be Hollywood Boulevard for the simple reason that every two weeks (count them, you will see I am on to something here) for the last month, an action film has culminated with a fight or car chase on Hollywood Boulevard. First, it was in The Italian Job, then in Hollywood Homicide, both better films by the way, and now this.

I am sure that there will be more Charlie’s Angels films to come. I did not like the first one and the second one is better, but still just average in the world of Hollywood action films. Perhaps the problem is that director McG’s style is so incredibly frantic that I lose interest in what is going on on screen. The story (revolving around Moore’s character to sell the FBI’s Witness Protection Program list to various crime families) is lost within the constant flashes and noises on screen. Special effects and style can certainly add to a film’s success. Most summer movies base their success around such elements. But when there is too much of it going on as there is in Full Throttle’s overkill of sight and sound, the element of awe of surprise is often lost. I’ll admit, I was surprised to like this sequel better than the first film. It usually does not work out that way. If a third Charlie’s Angels should come about, I hope that McG (whose name I still hope he changes) will tone it down a notch. Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle is a film in need of Ritalin.