THE AVENGERS Directed by Jeremiah Chechik Starring Raplh Fiennes, Uma Thurman and Sean Connery.
I heard an awful lot about The Avengers before I saw it. I read all of the incredibly unfavourable reviews and the baggings and the outright witchburnings. So I went into the cinema suspecting that I was about to endure one of the worst films of my life. I *had* to see it, however. It was The Avengers, based on one of the absolute best TV shows ever. (Alongside Doctor Who, Star Cops and Blake's 7, incidentally. Let's see them adapt those last two in Hollywood...)
I was surprised. I was very surprised, and to a very large degree I was delighted. First up, however: much of The Avengers is not very good. Sean Connery is downright awful, the editing is jumpy and distracting and the direction and timing flat and off-key. On the other hand, it boasts a wonderful script that delightfully echoes the original (particularly in an early scene between Steed and Mrs Peel driving to DeWynter's estate). Ralph Fiennes, while perhaps a little uncomfortable in such a simple role, generally convinces as secret agent John Steed and Uma Thurman is wonderful as the cat-suited Emma Peel. Some brilliantly surreal scenes and ideas go towards presenting a highly enjoyable movie indeed. True, it's buried under a thin layer of crap, but the quality is in there nonetheless.
Mixed, but highly enjoyable. Particularly the teddy bears.
7.5/10
Grant Watson.
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