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The film relies on special effects in order to achieve the ludicrously over the top stunts, and in most cases they have a blurry, artificial look to them, as if rushed to meet a deadline. Examples include Madison throwing Dylan and then kicking her in mid-air, and the Angels using some super extended wire to swing from the rooftop of an exploding building. There’s also the gravity defying motocross sequence, which has to be seen to be believed. A “bad guy” shoots at the Angels chasing him, by lifting himself upside-down from his bike while suspended in midair. His shots cause Natalie’s bike to explode, resulting in her doing a midair cartwheel and landing on the back of Dylan’s bike. The idea and execution of the scene itself is unintentionally hilarious.

Barrymore didn’t just star, but also produced the film. A few months after its release she responded to reports about the box office takings, saying, “We’ve made close to $260 million worldwide to date, so it’s really bitchy and mean when people try to make you feel like a failure.” To be fair, the film didn’t flop, and it did recoup its $120 million production budget. But even Barrymore must have expected more, for she went as far as to blame Demi Moore for the reason the film under performed, citing her extravagant press coverage. “Demi's character Madison Lee wanted to overshadow the new Angels,” said Barrymore, “and that's what happened in reality.”

There were also a lot of rumours reported about Moore’s diva-like requests, involving excessive hairdressers and stylists. It was also reported that the trio didn’t get along with Moore, and that they even stopped talking to her. At the US premiere, Diaz was questioned by a reporter about Moore’s role, only for Diaz to say, “I don't want to talk about her.”

As testament to its awfulness, the film was nominated for seven Razzies, and won two, for Worst Sequel and Worst Supporting Actress for Demi Moore (the first film received no Razzies whatsoever). I viewed the film on its opening day, and I’ll admit to enjoying it because it made me laugh. However, the film tries to build a story around the numerous set pieces. Also, the overly reliant cheap CG look during the action meant that it just couldn’t compete when compared to the likes of that summer’s crop - Terminator 3, The Matrix Reloaded, and X-Men 2. Rather than rushing to get it out for the summer, a bit more care and attention towards the plot, which was clearly an afterthought, could have resulted in a much better film.

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