The Avengers (1998)

based on the sophisticated, quirky british secret-agent television series of the 1960s. a scientist who develops the means to control large-scale weather changes uses his discovery to wreak evil. emma peele and john steed must stop the villian for person

The Avengers

A good simple "escape" film. I have always found the photography on deserted London streets (or English country roads) intriguing. October 4, 2008

Who will avenge the audience?

I used to watch the show as teen and would catch it on A&E when it used to come on. Sure it was campy but it was fun to watch. This movie is no such luck. It was doomed from the minute the director screamed action. The whole plot involves some asinine scheme by August De Wynter(played by Sean Connery) to control the world weather. The British secret service assign Emma Peel(Uma Thurman) and John Steed(Ralph Fiennes) to the case. The story is a kind of weak so they throw in a plot twist where one of the head of the secret service(affectionately called "Mother") is in cahoots with Sir Wynter. When you're not laughing at the cheesy dialogue, you cracking up at the hackneyed fight scenes and the overacting by Sean Connery, who seems to have more fun chewing up scenery than we do watching this film. The mechanical bees and the tedddy bear costumes...nice. This movie wasnt pre-screened for a reason and Sean Connery did warn people not to see this movie. You can put two and two together and see the outcome. If you liked the show you'll hate the movie. June 26, 2008

unforgivably bad

How can you improve on perfection? The original series with Diana Rigg was one of the best ever. It was campy, perfectly synchronized with the oddities of 1960s design, worldview, and style, and told good, short stories. It was a wonderful world unto itself.

By contrast, this film tries for camp without synching with the times, for an old-fashioned chemistry that it traduces (Emma and Steed had wonderful sexual tension, but everything else was implied, never shown), and for a weird yet believable story. But it fails utterly.

This film is so bad that it is like making a comic book version of a comic book. Not only do Fiennis and THurman utterly lack chemistry, in spite of their great talent, but the plot is simply and stupidly unbelievable. I think that this is the worst tv-remake I have ever seen. That answers the question: you shouldn't try to exploit perfection by slapping together a stupid film.

Not recommended. THere are far better things to waste one's time on. May 6, 2008

I'm Not Afraid To Say I Loved It!

Yes, it looks like it was edited with a chainsaw (blame the studio). Yes, Ralph Fiennes looks like he'd rather be elsewhere. And yes, the teddy bear suits look ridiculous. Guess what? I still love it! This, my friends, is what I call a guilty pleasure. Does it always make sense? Hell no, especially since there seems to be a lot missing (judge for yourself by watching the theatrical trailer). But it's so much fun. Let me say right now that I have never seen the old television series, so I went into this movie a novice. And I was entertained. It's campy, over the top and a little silly. But it's okay. As much as I love this film, I hope someday to see the whole uncut Director's version just to fill in the (many) holes. There are far worse movies out there, trust me, and if you just give yourself over to it, you may be pleasantly surprised. December 30, 2007

WHY Did I Do It?

As someone who was an insatiable fan of The Avengers British TV series, I was horrified when this movie appeared in 1998. I have always felt that one cannot improve upon perfection, and, at least as far as I was concerned, the original Avengers was about as close to that as anything can be, and still be man-made. Because of this, I vowed NOT TO SEE IT!

All right...granted, this movie has a marvelous cast, and even boasted a cameo role for Patrick Macnee (the first -- no, make that the REAL John Steed), but this was just another case where a great cast does not necessarily a good movie make.

Well, I kept my vow for all these years, but finally broke down and recently watched The Avengers, the movie.

OUCH!

Even Sean Connery couldn't pull this one out of the dumpster! It was painful. I was only able to suffer through half of it before I had to eject the disk in self defense! To cleanse myself, I watched three straight hours of the REAL Avengers immediately.

If you are tempted to watch this travesty because you fancy one of the stars...DON'T. Go and purchase another of their films instead, or, better yet, go and find the original Avengers and have at it! You'll be delighted, entertained, and you'll see it done the way it was INTENDED.

This was just...sad...
August 12, 2007

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