The Avengers

USA, 1998. Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik. Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman, Sean Connery, Patrick Macnee, Jim Broadbent, Fiona Shaw.

Big screen re-makes of old TV series always run the risk of being despised by fans of the original, but even making the usual allowances I have to say The Avengers is about the worst I've seen. I think they attempted to capture the quirky, surreal world of the series, but missed it by a mile. Fiennes and Thurman are all at sea, and even Connery, an actor who generally acquits himself well whatever the film, gives an embarrassing performance. The interplay and dialogue between Steed and Mrs Peel lacks any kind of subtlety, wit or charm and here is cruder - some of the exchanges feel like they belong in a Carry On film. As for continuity, it's virtually non-existent. Patrick Macnee's brief "appearance" as an invisible agent hidden in the bowels of the ministry building seems strangely appropriate - almost as if he couldn't bring himself to actually show his face. In short, it's a mess. While they're all still alive, why doesn't someone get Brian Clemens to write a "reunion" screenplay for Macnee, Honor Blackman, Diana Rigg, Linda Thorson and Joanna Lumley? I can see it now - they all meet up in Steed's nursing home (a home for retired agents), where someone's bumping off the residents....