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CRUD Challenge: The Avengers (1998)
Mar. 8th, 2026 08:59 amThe Avengers (1998) dir. Jeremiah S. Chechik
The Prospero Program, a method of manipulating weather patterns to create an atmospheric shield over the United Kingdom, has been compromised. It is now completely non-functional. The chief suspect is Dr. Emma Peel (Uma Thurman), one of the project scientists. While she was caught on camera at the time of the malfunction, she was also somewhere else at the time. Odd. The Ministry, led by bickering commanders Mother (Jim Broadbent) and Father (Fiona Shaw), assign top agent John Steed (Ralph Fiennes) to investigate Mrs. Peel, or whoever was impersonating her.
It quickly becomes apparent that the most likely perpetrator is Sir August de Wynter (Sean Connery), eccentric Scots laird, weather-obsessed climatologist and furry. His top goon Bailey (Eddie Izzard) and other minions create a series of challenges that complicate the investigation. And is there a second Emma Peel, or is she leading a double life?
This movie was a homage to the much-loved Diana Rigg seasons of the British television series The Avengers which blended spy action with science fiction and a bit of humor. (I've reviewed a later season of the show on this blog before.) As such, it falls prey to many of the problems associated with "modern" movie remakes of classic television shows.
The first of which is that much of the charm of those seasons was the specific chemistry of the main characters as played by Patrick McNee (who gets a fun cameo) and Diana Rigg (who declined the offer.) Mr. Fiennes and Ms. Thurman are fine actors who do adequate work here, but simply remind us of how much better the originals were in this particular combination. A poor editing job by studio management makes hash of the plot, and wastes "Evil Emma".
I do have to admit there's a lot of style here, starting with some innovative but hard to read opening credits. We get quite a bit of British quaintness, including multiple sessions of tea. The special effects are good for the time period. And Sir August gets to chew scenery magnificently, even if some of his character traits seem based on the seedier side of Mr. Connery's personal life. I do wish they'd leaned more into the furry thing.
Content notes: Quite a bit of violence, sometimes lethal. Male nudity, played for laughs (no genitals). Mrs. Peel barrels through a bit of gender exclusion. Interestingly, Father's blindness is never actually mentioned aloud, so the audience has to infer it. (Points for that.)
This is one of those movies that isn't quite as bad as its reputation at the time, but was entirely unnecessary. It's an okay watch if you're a fan of one or more of the stars.
The Prospero Program, a method of manipulating weather patterns to create an atmospheric shield over the United Kingdom, has been compromised. It is now completely non-functional. The chief suspect is Dr. Emma Peel (Uma Thurman), one of the project scientists. While she was caught on camera at the time of the malfunction, she was also somewhere else at the time. Odd. The Ministry, led by bickering commanders Mother (Jim Broadbent) and Father (Fiona Shaw), assign top agent John Steed (Ralph Fiennes) to investigate Mrs. Peel, or whoever was impersonating her.
It quickly becomes apparent that the most likely perpetrator is Sir August de Wynter (Sean Connery), eccentric Scots laird, weather-obsessed climatologist and furry. His top goon Bailey (Eddie Izzard) and other minions create a series of challenges that complicate the investigation. And is there a second Emma Peel, or is she leading a double life?
This movie was a homage to the much-loved Diana Rigg seasons of the British television series The Avengers which blended spy action with science fiction and a bit of humor. (I've reviewed a later season of the show on this blog before.) As such, it falls prey to many of the problems associated with "modern" movie remakes of classic television shows.
The first of which is that much of the charm of those seasons was the specific chemistry of the main characters as played by Patrick McNee (who gets a fun cameo) and Diana Rigg (who declined the offer.) Mr. Fiennes and Ms. Thurman are fine actors who do adequate work here, but simply remind us of how much better the originals were in this particular combination. A poor editing job by studio management makes hash of the plot, and wastes "Evil Emma".
I do have to admit there's a lot of style here, starting with some innovative but hard to read opening credits. We get quite a bit of British quaintness, including multiple sessions of tea. The special effects are good for the time period. And Sir August gets to chew scenery magnificently, even if some of his character traits seem based on the seedier side of Mr. Connery's personal life. I do wish they'd leaned more into the furry thing.
Content notes: Quite a bit of violence, sometimes lethal. Male nudity, played for laughs (no genitals). Mrs. Peel barrels through a bit of gender exclusion. Interestingly, Father's blindness is never actually mentioned aloud, so the audience has to infer it. (Points for that.)
This is one of those movies that isn't quite as bad as its reputation at the time, but was entirely unnecessary. It's an okay watch if you're a fan of one or more of the stars.
