Who knew that Kristen Stewart could have this much fun? Whether she’s whipping her body around the dance floor or head butting Tinder dates in the kisser, K-Stew is straight lit. She’s scorching hot. As on fire as a Flaming Doctor Pepper. And it’s good to bask in the heat. The Twilight alum has spent the last decade reshaping public perception of her acting chops, starring in dramatic and critically-acclaimed Films with a capital F. Most notably through her partnership with Olivier Assayas in Clouds of Sils Maria and Personal Shopper, Stewart has become an actress of high repute and though she’s yet to land herself any kind of Oscar nomination, her star has risen from blockbuster starlet with a Razzie nom to respectable leading lady whose projects are worth seeking out through her association alone. For what seems like the first time in probably ever, the many sides and talents of Stewart come to a head in Charlie’s Angels, a cutesy and shallow fun time that would allow the actress the chance to let her hair down had she not cropped it short. Even so, Stewart is here to shake it off and actually have some fun. And boy what a show she puts on.

In a time period where women’s social voices are in sharper focus and their representation more publicly spoken about than ever, Charlie’s Angels really has timing on its side. The 70’s-television-show-turned-early-aughts franchise proves undeniably ripe for a revisit, especially since the thing most remember most from McG’s 2000 film is lots of sexy costume changes and Cameron Diaz shaking her moneymaker for every box office dollar possible. I’m not here to dismiss McG’s, ahem, artist decisions but it goes without saying that the 2019 version of this movie is decidedly less male-gazey, but still full up on sexy costume changes. Hell, there’s an entire scene dedicated to showing off multiple rooms full of wardrobe changes and sleek little 00-esque gadgets.

Now that the Townsend Agency has expanded operations internationally, Angels (and their faithful Bosleys) have their hands in all kinds of criminal pies spanning the globe. Racketeer and international aid thief Jonny Smith (Chris Pang) is one such pie. What he thought was a date with Sabina Wilson, Stewart’s street-smart, trust-fund badass, turns from flirtation to fisticuffs in a scene that perfectly sets the brisk, nonchalant, carefree tone of the feature. Ella Balinkska’s no-nonsense Jane then bursts onto the scene as hot as a ghost pepper, putting down a room full of armed men like babies to their naps. Banks sets the girl-powered tone early, pumping up the “strong” and “independent” portions of the “strong independent women” who go on to power her feature and make it such a lowkey chill time at the theater.

While all this world-saving stuff going on in the background, progressive power company Brock is rushing an Alexa-like internet-based power source to market, despite the protests of whip-smart programmer Elena (Naomi Scott), who correctly suspects the hardware could be weaponized. Unwilling to let her brainchild fall into the wrong hands, Elena takes a meeting with the Townsend Agency with the hopes of exposing the vulnerability before it’s too late. Instead, she ends up on the receiving end of a would-be-assassination, taken under the wing of Sabina, Jane, and a lady Bosley (played by writer-director Elizabeth Banks) who must team up to keep the nefarious instrument from dastardly arms dealers and tech-hungry consumers.

There’s no denying the plot plays fast and loose with logic and comes up pretty short in the originality department. Teeing up its silly evil-app Macguffin and kind of just chasing it around the world, the Charlie’s Angels aren’t unlike the Torreto gang, Ethan Hunt’s Impossible Mission Force, or any other spy agency on the run in movies of similar stature. Plot-wise, you’d be hard-pressed to remember much remarkable or landscape-changing and on a more granular level, Charlie’s Angels doesn’t do a great job describing how a rogue operations network interfaces with governmental branches of policing but, well, that’s not really the movie that Elizabeth Banks set out to make. Bourne, this is not. Bond, this is not. Rather, Banks’ Charlie’s Angels is featherweight and fun, a light-minded distraction with enough raw-raw “don’t tell me to smile” glass-ceiling punching girl power to spin two mostly enjoyable hours out of.

The “Yas queen” actioner is sure to especially delight preteen girls in the audience, the central trio an adorable but capable bunch of slick and charming role models. Between Stewart’s bombastically enjoyable Sabina, Balinkska’s cool-calm-collected Jane, and Elena’s learn-on-the-fly quick wit, these ladies are just a blast to watch; their chemistry is playful and ribbing even though Banks dares not to really push up against any deep emotions or larger social issues a la the #MeToo moment. This movie is for kids, teens, and adults with the brainstem toggled to “sleep mode”, and it lives and dies on the strength of the central squad. To their credit, Jane learns to be vulnerable, Ella learns to stand up for herself, and Sabina learns, well, nothing really. But she’s entertaining throughout so no shots fired there. Despite apparently minimal deeper aspirations, Banks’ direction is flashy, clean and exuberant, punching up the fun-loving nature of the story with all kinds of luscious costumery and girl glitz. And when all is said and done, I’d welcome some more time with these characters which means you can probably go ahead and chalk the movie up to a mild “mission accomplished”.

CONCLUSION: ‘Charlie’s Angels’ may not move the dial much in terms of plot, story, or even character but when everything is working in harmony, it’s hard to deny the film’s pure entertainment value. One thing is for certain: Kristen Stewart, Ella Balinkska and Naomi Scott are a trio of angels you will walk out wanting more of.