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In this paper, I will compare Charlie’s Angels 2000 version to its remake, which came out in 2019. By comparing these two, I will focus on the choice of soundtrack for both films, will discuss the tropes we see in each film, and the controversial statements about these films. Lastly, I will discuss why they chose a female director for the 2019 one and what she was going for when directing this film. I will then transition to the main theme of both of these amazing films, the main characters, and the character archetypes. I will also discuss the reviews of the films and my opinion of them.

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Both of the Charlie’s Angels movies, the 2000 version and the 2019 one, follow the tv series which aired from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981 (Charlie’s Angels). Charlie’s Angels 2019  is the third installment in this film franchise and is a continuation of the story that began with the tv series of the same name by Ivan Golf and Ben Roberts. The director for the 2000 version is McG (Joseph McGinty Nichol); meanwhile, the new version of Charlie’s Angels is directed by a woman, Elizabeth Banks. The reason for the different directors is because Charlie’s Angels and it sequel, Charlie’s Angels: Full throttle, was made for the male gaze, and it focused on a trio of female detectives. Whereas Charlie’s Angel’s 2019 version mainly focuses on female empowerment and teamwork because they added more angels throughout the film. Both of these films were released by Sony Pictures under their label, Columbia pictures. The budget for Charlie’s Angels 2000 was 93 million, and it grossed at $264 million worldwide (Charlie’s Angels 2000). However, the 2019 version was budgeted at $48- 55 million and grossed $73.3 million (Charlie’s Angels 2019).

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Charlie’s Angels 2000 is about a trio of elite private investigators who use cutting-edge tactics on land, sea, and air to find a kidnapped aspiring billionaire and prevent his top-secret voice-identification software from falling into the wrong hands. They are equipped with the most advanced high-tech tools, high-performance vehicles, martial arts techniques, and various disguises. The 2019 version is about a scientist, and engineer, Elena Houghlin. She is also the creator of Calisto, a powerful and portable power source that will transform how people use electricity. Elena turns to the Townsend Agency for assistance when the cutting-edge technology ends up in the wrong hands. It’s up to the angels, Jane and Sabina, and the recently hired Elena to recover Calisto before it can be turned into a weapon of mass destruction.

Both of the themes in these film focus on female empowerment. The only difference is that Charlie’s Angels 2000 focuses on the male gaze, and the main characters are often shown to be sexualized. In this film, the angels are a symbol of male fantasy. Several scenes throughout the film show the angels showing off cleavage.  An example of this could be shown in the race track scene where Dylan seduces a guy in his car while Alex opens his truck and puts a spy car on a briefcase. In this movie, we could see the "dizzy" trope being shown.
An example of this would be revealed when Natalie Cook goes undercover as a cocktail waitress, where she flirts with a partygoer. When she flirts with him, she appears to make a bumbling, awkward conversation (Wang). Whereas in Charlie’s Angels 2019, the main characters aren’t sexualized, throughout the film, they focus on how important it is for a woman to live up to her potential. For example, in the opening scene, we see Sabina, one of the angels, on a date with a man, and she tells him I think a woman can do anything. Also, in the 2019 version, we see tropes such as "Accidental Murder" or "Black Dude Dies First". An example of the accidental murder trope is shown when Callisto is known to cause convulsions in humans. When Ralph, the security guard, approaches Callisto too closely and disregards Elena's warnings, he is fatally injured. For the "Black Dude Dies First" trope, we see that when Edgar "Bosley" Dessange, who's black, is the first of the cast to die (“Film / Charlie’s Angels (2019)”). Both of these films follow a casual plot structure.

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Charlie’s Angels (2000):

Natalie Cook (Cameron Diaz): She is a smart and goofy private investigator who is sometimes naive. She is also very resourceful to the Angels.

Dylan Sanders (Drew Barrymore): She is reckless, quite resourceful, and falls in love with criminals.

Alex Munday (Lucy Liu): An expert in martial arts, a strategist, and very skilled with electronics.

Eric Knox: is a villain in the film, a brilliant young scientist, founder, and owner of "Knox Industries."

Some character archetypes:

The Warrior: Dylan, Natalie, and Alex

The Child: Dylan

The orphan: The thin man

The caregiver: Bosley/Charlie

The mentor: Bosley/Charlie

The ruler: Charlie/ Bosely

The rebel: Dylan

The lover: Dylan

The seducer: Dylan

Charlie’s Angels (2019):

Jane Kano (Ellas Balinska): She is independent and distant and could be cold at times, but deep down, she cares for the rest of the angels. Seeks vengeance against the man who murdered her mentor.

Sabina Wilson (Kristen Stewart): Shown to be free-spirited, caring, and empathetic. She also sees herself as being annoying because she lacks the filter that people have. On missions, she plays the distraction, and she’s easily distracted by dogs or women.

Elena Houghlin (Naomi Scott): She is the engineer programmer and the creator of the Calisto Project.

Bosley 342/ Rebekah/ Elizabeth Banks: She is a former angel and now Bosley in the Townsend Agency.

Some character Archetypes

The warrior: Jane Kano

The child: Elena Houglin

The orphan: Jane and Elena

The creator: Bosley (Elizabeth)

The caregiver: The saint

The mentor: Bosley (Elizabeth)

The joker: Sabina

The explorer: Jane

The ruler: Elizabeth

The rebel: Patrick Stewart/Bosely

The lover: Jane

The seducer: Sabina

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Nikki Sixx and Edward Shearmer were the film music for Charlie’s Angels 2000, and this soundtrack gave the viewers a girl power kind of vibe. For example, we hear “Independent Women, Pt. 1” by Destiny’s Child. In the opening of this song, it calls the names of the Trio. First, it begins with “Lucy Liu, with my girl Drew/ Cameron D., and Destiny/ Charlie’s Angels, come on. This soundtrack also references the Charlie’s Angel’s tv show which came out in the 70s. The music bounces between the two decades and pays homage to it’s Jaclyn Smithian roots (Sollosi). In the 2019 version, film music composer Brian Tyler does a blend of 70’s spy style and modern-day action. His use of 70s-sounding strings and percussion instruments gives the viewers a sense of the direction he is going in throughout the film (Sollosi).

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This song gives the viewers a girl-power vibe. It starts off with Destiny's Child naming the trio. "Lucy Liu, with my girl Drew/ Cameron D. and Destiny/Charlie's Angels, come on. This music video shows Beyonce, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams training at the Charlie's Angels boot camp (Sollosi).

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Destiny's Child - Independent Women Part I (Official HD Video)

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This scene opens up with uplifting strings, slowly changing the track's mood. Hip-Hop beats return in the Townsend agency, with strings making a brief appearance in the opening for a few seconds to cameo the main theme, which then slows down (Zanobard).

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This song came out in 1977 and played in the movie when Alex storms into an office wearing a leather suit. The men in this clip are shown to be helpless when she walks past them. This is a perfect example of the angels being for the male gaze because of their sexy disguises (Sollosi).

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“This show was a designer’s dream,” Joseph Aulisi, the movie’s costume designer, said recently in Los Angeles. “We got to do not only high-fashion and high action clothes, but there were so many costumey, fun elements too.” (Los Angeles Times)

“This new Charlie’s Angels film, on the other hand, is the non-event of the year, a tree of boredom falling unheard in a forest of dullness.” (The Guardian).

“ Charlie’s Angels is truly about women in a way it has never been before, for better or for worse. The girl-power vibe that provides the film’s energy is unmistakable and often exhilarating, but it can also be heavy-handed”(Roger Ebert). They mention how we didn’t need any opening montage of girls and women doing extraordinary things around the globe. I'm afraid I have to disagree with that. I think that showing females in the world doing things shows the viewers that there are other angels out there, which could mean that some angels would show up at the end of the film.

"There's a lot of hair flipping and inappropriate footwear, with bits of casual racism and stereotypes doused in” (Wang). I agree with this statement because we can see that multiple cultures were offended in this film. Two different Asian cultures weren't appropriately represented in this movie, Japanese and Chinese. Also, we see India being offended, too, because we see Natalie and Alex belly dancing.

"She [Pascal] was like, 'Maybe there could be a scene where you're in a bar, and she gets up on a table and starts shaking her booty'. She's reeling off these stereotypes of how to be more convincing as a black character' (BBC News). This statement explains why the actress Thandie Newton dropped out of the 2000's Charlie's Angels. She states that the film's producer Sony Pictures co-chairman used black stereotypes when discussing how to make her character. It is saddening to read they could keep her on Charlie's Angels and not stereotype her. If you look at the 2019 version, we can see some African American angels throughout the movie, and they aren't shown to be stereotyped.

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Sollosi, Mary. “Why The Charlie’s Angels Soundtrack Is Still the Fiercest, Funkiest Girl-power Playlist Ever.” EW.com, 4 Nov. 2015, ew.com/article/2015/11/03/charlies-angels-soundtrack.

Zanobard, •. “Charlie's Angels (2019) – Soundtrack Review.” Zanobard Reviews, 15 Nov. 2019, https://zanobardreviews.com/2019/11/15/charlies-angels-2019-soundtrack-review/.

“Review: The 'Charlie's Angels' Soundtrack Serves Songs That'll Stay Stuck in Your Head.” The Diamondback, 27 Aug. 2020, https://dbknews.com/2019/11/06/charlies-angels-soundtrack-ariana-grande-nicki-minaj-review/.

Sun, From Baltimore. “Costuming Angels Was a Little Slice of Heaven for Designer.” Los Angeles Times, 4 Mar. 2019, www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-nov-23-cl-56095-story.html.

Lemire, Christy. “Charlie’s Angels Movie Review (2019) | Roger Ebert.” © Copyright 2022, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/charlies-angels-movie-review-2019.

Wikipedia contributors. “Charlie’s Angels (2000 Film).” Wikipedia, 7 Dec. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie's_Angels_(2000_film).

“Charlie’s Angels (2019 Film).” Wikipedia, 30 Nov. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie's_Angels_(2019_film).

Wikipedia contributors. “Charlie’s Angels.” Wikipedia, 2 Dec. 2022, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie's_Angels.

Wang, Jessica. “The Original Charlie’s Angels Film Was Pretty Problematic, and We Need to Talk About It.” Mamamia, 20 Nov. 2019, www.mamamia.com.au/charlies-angels-original.

BBC News. “Thandie Newton Explains Why She Dropped Out of 2000’s Charlie’s Angels.” BBC News, 8 July 2020, www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-53332606.

“Film / Charlie’s Angels (2019).” TV Tropes, tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Film/CharliesAngels2019.