Review of The Avengers (1998) by Albert C — 18 Jun 2007

The Avengers is a classy mind-bending British spy adventure. It's campy and a whole lot of fun! The production design and witty script was superb. I loved the awesome opening titles and soundtrack with great score and pop tunes.

Uma Thurman is sexy and charming as Emma Peel. Ralph Fiennes made a classy and calm-no-matter-what John Steed. Sean Connery was a hostile and demented weather-controlling scientist Sir August de Wynter.

Eddie Izzard plays a naughty glam-clad baddie. There are some great scenes and concepts: big radio-controlled killer wasps, a dangerous village training ground, them walking across the water in bubbles, a secret boardroom meeting with teddy bear costumes, a duplicate Emma Peel, an endless loop of mansion hallways, Emma and Steed's impromptu fencing, a tea tap on the car dash, a skirmish on high-wires in a lightning storm chamber, an old lady taking out baddies with a machine gun, a mini tornado inside a glass dome, a hot air balloon escape, Emma Peel strutting boldly into a private mens' club, a guy boss code-named Mother and a lady boss code-named Father, a sunny day instantly becoming a blizzard, multiple tornadoes in London, and more! It's packed with great things - and all in 89 minutes, meaning brisk pacing.

I've watched it lots of times.