The Avengers is a 1998 film based on the British cult television series of the same name from the 1960s. The film was directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik . It starred Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman as secret agents John Steed and Emma Peel, and Sean Connery as Sir August de Wynter, a mad scientist bent on controlling the world's weather and blackmailing various governments for sun or rain. Patrick Macnee, the John Steed of the original series, makes a pseudo-cameo as the voice of Invisible Jones.

Critical Response

The film was given almost universally bad reviews; the purists despised it for bungling up the original series (particularly the introduction of a romance between Steed and Peel - a taboo subject in the series), and the newcomers were utterly lost by all of the failed attempts to capture the mood of the original. Further adding to the confusion, after terrible test screenings, the 150-minute film was slashed down to 89 minutes, sacrificing much coherency and continuity in the process.

Trivia

• Much of the footage seen in the official trailer for the film comes from scenes cut from the final film. Most of the cut scenes remain in the official novelization of the film, and in copies of the shooting script which continue to circulate on the Internet.

Quotes

John Steed: After all, according to your file, you're a psychopathic personality with schizophrenic delusions, suffering from recurring amnesia based on traumatic repression leading to outbursts of antisocial and violent behavior. Knight to king seven. Check.

Emma Peel: Is that really what you think of me?

John Steed: Well...just my type, Mrs. Peel.

External links

• A dissenting view: two reviews concluding that the film was successful in capturing the magic of the series