# Avengers, The (1998)

### reviewed by
Nick Amado

    Review: The Avengers

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman and Sean Connery

    Directed by Jeremiah Chechik
    Approx 90 min

Though at times I wasn't sure what to make of The Avengers, I must admit that I came out pleased. I don't really know why, but I just enjoyed the film. It's due in great part to the costume and production design. The Avengers is a stylish, vibrantly colorful and opulent picture.

I don't think I'd do very well in capsulating the story. The writer didn't do a very good job with it either. Basically, Sean Connery is a villain bent on world domination. He threatens every country in the world with his weather controlling device. If they don't pay him 10 percent of their GNP, he freezes their country. Special agent John Steed (Fiennes) works on stopping him, with the aid of Dr. Emma Peel (Thurman) who has only a short time to clear her name of heinous wrong-doings.For some reason (that I either didn't get or that wasn't explained clearly) there is a duplicate Emma Peel running about. She looks like Uma, only colder. And she is, of course, the one responsible for being bad. I don't think I've done a very poor job of explaining this, the story just isn't that good.

But there is something likable about the cheesey dialogue. And how could you not like a film that has people in huge colorful teddy bear costumes at a board meeting? There is also a spiffy "locust" attack, orchestrated by British rising star comedian Eddie Izzard, who's only line comes at the end of the film. One of many lines that made me chuckle, I might add.

Some films make it difficult to tell if they take themselves seriously. With Congo, they certainly did not, but that didn't work for so many reasons. With Godzilla, I'm not sure whether or not they took themselves seriously, but really, no matter how they took themselves, they couldn't have made it palpable. But The Avengers puts a modern, spunky twist on a campy 60's TV series. True fans probably won't much care for the new version, they seldom do. But as a viewer who has seen episodes, but was never die hard fan (and honestly can't remember much about them) I was able to enjoy The Avengers for what it was worth. Admitedly, it could have been made MUCH better than this. Fiennes and Connery are forgettable, and so is Thurman (who has never looked better). But for some reason, I didn't care about that as much with this one as I do with so many others. I think there is enough splash and style, enough pretty photography, enough cool effects and funky characters (shallow though they may be) that I can recommend this film for some light-hearted, thuroughly predictable fun.

    * * 1/2 out of * * * *  stars
    ©1998 Nick Amado
    email me at
    namado@concentric.net

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