Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Just About Completely Dreadful, January 14, 2005
As soon as I saw that Ralph Fiennes' head was too small for his bowler, I knew "The Avengers" was going to be a mess. Terribly miscast as superspy John Steed--Fiennes is charmless in the role that Patrick MacNee so ably brought to life on television--he resembles a child wearing his father's hat (and not too happy about it). Uma Thurman fares little better. While she was terrific in both "Kill Bill" films, she's way out of her league looks-wise and charisma-wise when compared to Diana Rigg's simply scrumptious Emma Peel. And then there's the story, or what passes for it, something about a scene-chewing though not particularly convincing Sean Connery controlling the world's weather. Director Jeremiah Chechik and whoever is willing to take the blame for the script get some of the surface details of "The Avengers" formula right but completely miss the boat with regard to the TV series' wit, style, and sophistication, another (typical) modern misstep of focusing on form and ignoring substance. To be fair, a lot apparently was cut from the film before its release, but it's hard to imagine anything salvaging "The Avengers"--and the DVD is sans deleted scenes, so the point is moot. Eddie Izzard pops up looking like a mod, shrunken Oliver Reed but gets the film's best line, though a brief sight gag featuring "Mother," the spy agency boss, also actually made me chuckle with the film and not at it. At least poor Patrick MacNee was smart enough to make sure his cameo did not require him to actually show up on screen; Diana Rigg was smarter for turning the film down outright. Why anyone bothered to remake "The Avengers" is beyond me, as the show worked fine as it was, and I can't think of any actors today who could embody Steed and Peel as well as the originals.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not even 1 star., March 7, 2006
Let me just say that I love all the Avengers from Mrs. Gale to Tara King (for the most part) and I do love the actors of The Avengers movie but this movie stinks. It has nothing to do with the original show. First off Mrs. Peel never dealt with Mother. Mrs. Peel also did not have an on screen affair with Steed either. But Hollywood got it's paws on the story and ruined it. If your a fan of the show then you will hate this movie. I even tried to watch it a second time and just turned it off. This after Wal Mart had it for $5.00 on a discount rack. I should have been free.
Nothing in this movie blends with the real show. Nothing! I only wish that the real Avengers fans had a say with the script before they drove the image in the ground. I bet the script writer never really watched the show in the first place.
Stick with the original Avengers of the 60's. It can never be replicated. At least not in this movie.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Bordering on excellent, November 29, 1998
I approached The Avengers with some trepidation, courtesy of several negative reviews, including one Australian critic who proclaimed it the worst movie he had ever seen. Having been one of just 42 people in the cinema when I saw the film, I was wondering just how bad it was going to be. My fears were unfounded. It was entertaining, amusing and suitably peculiar. I say suitably peculiar as, being a fan of the 60's TV series, any deviation from the concept would have been totally unsatisfactory. The movie, set in the sixties, was not a nostalgia trip (something which would have been a distraction) but still managed to capture the essence of that period. The plot was as silly as any in the TV series, thank goodness, and the villain (Sean Connery) was appropriately unbelievable. It wasn't one of Connery's best performances but he obviously enjoyed hamming it up outrageously. You have to enjoy it for that alone. Don't fall into the trap of comparing Uma Thurman and Ralph Feines with Diana Rigg and Patrick Macnee. They play their parts differently, not better or worse, just different. The comparison is irrelevant. The cinematography is excellent, as are the special effects. Overall, a highly enjoyable film that should appeal to fans of the genre, and Avengers fan specifically. Not a great movie, but a good production. Its lack of success is unfortunate, and the bad press overdone. It's likely to attain some degree of cult status within a couple of years.
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