Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.40:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Most of the time, I felt the movie looked pretty good, but the picture displayed a mix of moderate concerns.
Much of the image seemed nicely detailed and crisp, but more than a few exceptions occurred. At times, the film appeared somewhat soft and ill defined. Those tendencies weren’t extreme, but they caused some mild distractions.
No issues connected to jagged edges or moiré effects occurred, and no edge haloes appeared along the way. Print flaws failed to become a concern.
Colors seemed generally positive, though Throttle lacked the vivacity of the original. The palette remained just as broad and varied, but the tones often seemed a little overdone at times.
The red lighting at the murder scene was a bit heavy and messy. Most of the hues were reasonably vivid and distinct, but they didn’t quite leap off the screen like I expected.
Blacks were effectively dense and deep, though, and low-light shots seemed well developed. This image seemed good enough for a “B” but it lacked consistency.
On the other hand, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Full Throttle presented a more consistently satisfying affair. As one might anticipate, the flick offered a consistently lively and active soundfield.
Given the dominance of the action sequences, we got many opportunities for the use of all five channels, and the movie mostly took good advantage of these. Elements seemed accurately placed within the environment, and they melded together neatly.
The surrounds kicked in with a lot of effective audio. Bullets whizzed by cleanly, explosions filled all the speakers naturally, and the track generally kicked the movie to life well.
Audio quality was perfectly fine. Speech always came across as natural and crisp, and I noticed no issues connected to intelligibility or edginess.
Music seemed dynamic and taut. The score was always bright and vibrant, and the music presented a satisfying punch.
Effects blasted nicely. Those elements were accurate and clean, and they showed solid bass response when appropriate. Ultimately, the audio of Full Throttle delivered a powerful and involving soundtrack.
How did the Blu-ray compare to the original DVD? The lossless audio showed a bit more oomph, and visuals offered the usual format-based improvements.
This meant superior definition, colors and clarity. Though the Blu-ray lacked great picture quality on its own, it worked better than the spotty DVD.
The Blu-ray largely repeats the DVD’s extras, and we open with a telestrator commentary from director McG. We’ve seen this format used sporadically in the past for flicks such as Men In Black.
It didn’t add much to that presentation, and it doesn’t do much for Full Throttle either. The telestrator remains a gimmick, and a fairly pointless one at that.
As a straight commentary, McG presents a decent affair. He talks almost non-stop, which is a move in the right direction. He covers many topics connected to the movie such as its visual look, working with the actors, issues on the set, effects, stunts, and story decisions.
Unfortunately, he peppers this with a higher than average amount of happy talk, as McG frequently lavishes praise on the film and all involved. He also often tends to simply narrate the story. Enough good information appears here to make it a decent listen, but it’s generally a pretty average commentary.
A more traditional audio commentary comes from writers John August, Cormac Wibberley, and Marianne Wibberley. All three sit together for their running, screen-specific chat.
This proves to be a surprisingly interesting and entertaining track. They talk about all the permutations through which the script meant, which means we learn a lot about abandoned concepts and variations. They also relate some general behind the scenes information, and those points occasionally repeat notes from McG’s track.
The piece periodically sags a bit as well, especially during the film’s second half. Nonetheless, there’s more good than bad to be found here, and the writer’s commentary is mostly a good one. (By the way, you’ll want to stick it out through the end credits, as the speakers include a surprising amount of useful material at the film’s conclusion.)
Another option to accompany the movie appears. The Angel-Vision Trivia Track presents a slew of factoids related to the film via the subtitle stream. This works like most others in the genre as it provides information about the cast, crew, and different elements.
For example, we get notes about the history of Sex Wax and the Witness Protection Program. It’s a pretty mediocre affair, especially because the information peters out as the movie progresses and only pops up infrequently.
Note that on the DVD, “Angel-Vision” came with a branching option to show video clips. That doesn’t appear on the Blu-ray.
The Blu-ray includes two versions of Full Throttle. We find both the Theatrical Version (1:45:34) and an Unrated Cut (1:47:05).
Basically the "Unrated" film adds some small tidbits related to sex and violence that would've made it an "R" in the US. Nothing thrilling appears, but the "Unrated" edition seems like the way to go.
After this we receive a slew of featurettes. Pussycat Dolls runs four minutes, 55 seconds. We hear from McG, actors Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu, Pussycat Dolls founder Robin Autin, and Carmen Electra.
We learn a little about the origins of the Dolls and their use in the movie. It doesn’t give us a great deal of info, but it’s pretty sexy, so who cares?
In Rolling With the Punches, we find a six-minute, seven-second clip that focuses on the flick’s stunts. We get notes from McG, Liu, Diaz, Barrymore, Demi Moore, Crispin Glover, Justin Theroux, martial arts specialist Cheung-Yan Yuen, and producer Nancy Juvonen.
“Rolling” tends to be somewhat puffy, as we hear how much work the actors put into their stunts, but it adds some good insight into the procedures, and the material from the set offers interesting glimpses of the processes.
Next we find XXX-Treme Angels, a nine-minute, five-second look at the flick’s motocross sequence. We hear remarks from McG, Liu, Diaz, Barrymore, Juvonen, production designer J. Michael Riva, executive producer Patrick Crowley, second unit director/stunt coordinator Mic Rodgers, motocross stunts/camera Rich Taylor, stunts Trevor Vines and Ryan Hughes, doubles Mike Metzger, Chris Gosselaar, and second unit stunt coordinator Chris Tuck.
“XXX-Treme” looks at how they selected the location, different forms of motocross, and bringing the scene to life. It’s a good examination of the methods used for the scene and it adds to our understanding of the work.
The longest program, Full Throttle: The Cars of Charlie’s Angels runs 17 minutes, 51 seconds as it examines the flick’s vehicles. It includes statements from McG, Moore, Mic Rodgers, picture car coordinator Cyril O’Neil, transportation coordinator John Orlebeck, Beverly Hills Maserati president Giacomo Mattioli, first assistant director Mark Cotone, special effects supervisor Matt Sweeney, and “Miss Bigfoot” driver Dan Runte.
“Cars” covers the variety of vehicles and their use in the flick in a concise and entertaining manner.
After this comes Designing Angels: The Look of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, a seven-minute, 26-second look at the flick’s visuals. McG, Liu, Theroux, director of photography Russell Carpenter, visual effects supervisor Mark Stetson, production designer Riva, costume designer Joseph G. Aulisi, and location manager Kenneth Lavet.
“Look” gets into costumes, cinematography, locations and other visual elements. It’s a bit too short to be very useful, but it tosses out a few decent notes.
For details on some day-to-day work, we go to There’s No Such Thing As a Short Shot, Only an Overworked Producer. The eight-minute 51-second piece involves information from McG, production designer Riva, executive producer Patrick Crowley, location manager Lavet, visual effects supervisor Stetson, and first assistant director Cotone.
They discuss logistics, scheduling, and budget concerns for a large-scale flick like this. It’s another unspectacular but generally interesting program.
Angels Makeover: Hansen Dam goes into the work done for the film’s big opening sequence stunt. In the four-minute, six-second piece, we hear from Riva, Stetson, lead matte painter Ivo Horvat, matte painter Joshua Geisler-Amhowitz, and computer graphics supervisor Daniel Eaton.
They get into the challenges involved in fabricating a Mongolian dam in California along with some computer work. It’s a decent little examination but it lacks much detail.
Dream Duds: Costuming an Angel gives us a four-minute, 11-second look at the flick’s outfits. Unlike the other programs, it includes no interviews.
Instead, it shows clothes from the final movie along with conceptual sketches and some behind the scenes pictures. It’s moderately interesting but nothing special.
With Angel Scouts, we locate a six-minute, 49-second piece with McG. The reel examines various locations and becomes a decent overview.
Angels Film School goes for 11 minutes, 47 seconds and covers eight different production positions. We meet 1st AD Mark Cotone, script supervisor Tricia Ronten, storyboard artist Adolfo Martinez-Perez, advertising SVP Christine Birch, special effects supervisor Matt Sweeney, visual effects supervisor Mark Stetson, driver Tony Peralta and stunt doubles Alisa Hensley and Heidi Moneymaker.
McG visits these participants on the set and lets us get some notes about their work. Though not deep, “School” brings some decent information.
Up next is a Music Video for “Feel Good Time” by Pink Featuring William Orbit. The clip mostly uses the standard mix of movie clips and lip-synch material, but it does so in a slightly more creative than usual manner to create an alternate storyline that involves the singer. It’s not great, but it’s a little more interesting than most in the genre.
A form of chapter search appears via Full Throttle Jukebox. This displays the 13 pop songs that show up in the movie and lets you jump straight to those tracks.
The Cameo-Graphy follows suit and allows you to led immediately to any of the 13 guest stars.
In addition to two trailers for Throttle, we find a preview of the 2019 Charlie’s Angels. It spans two minutes, 16 seconds and after an exceedingly brief intro from director Elizabeth Banks, it simply shows a quick scene from the film.
After a surprisingly lively and amusing original, I had high hopes for Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. Unfortunately, the flick provides only sporadic entertainment at best, as its charms become overwhelmed with bombast and flash. The Blu-ray brings good but not great visuals along with strong audio and a solid package of bonus materials. This ends up as a generally positive release for a mediocre movie.
To rate this film visit the prior review of CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE
