Tired of James Bond? Get ready for ‘The 355’

Above : Jessica Chastain stars in “The 355,” which opens on Friday. (Photo/Universal Pictures)

There are only so many ways, apparently, to make a spy movie featuring an all-woman team of operatives.

The most famous, of course, is “Charlie’s Angels,” the 1970s-era television series that starred Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson and Jaclyn Smith (and, later, Cheryl Ladd, Shelley Hack and Tanya Roberts).

That concept made it to the movies not once but three times, the first two – “Charlie’s Angels” (2000) and “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” (2003) –featuring a cast of Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu. The third, updated though again titled “Charlie’s Angels” (2019), starred Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott and Ellie Balinska.

Now we have “The 355,” which opens wide Friday. And a quick look at the trailer makes the film feel a lot like a 2022 version of “Charlie’s Angels” – maybe minus the Bosley character (played by such actors as David Doyle, Bill Murray, Bernie Mac and Elizabeth Banks) and the obvious comic overtone.

Directed by Simon Kinberg, and based on a screenplay written by Kinberg, Theresa Rebeck and Bek Smith, the film stars Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Diane Kruger and Penelope Cruz, with Fan Bingbing haunting them and the likes of Sebastian Stan in support.

The concept has the four (maybe five) agents from different countries, and boasting different loyalties, teaming up to retrieve a top-secret weapon (the obligatory MacGuffin) that has fallen into the wrong hands.

No reviews are as yet available from credible critics, which is never a good sign. Until they start appearing, though, you can always re-watch the original series, which made the blond-tressed Fawcett a star. The first season is available on Amazon Prime for the low price of $14.99.

That’s far less than a copy of Fawcett’s famous swimsuit poster will cost you.