"The Avengers"
The Avengers (pg-13)DT: This film ranks up there with "The Temp" and the remake of "Diabolique". The characters are so lifeless and flat that you find yourself not really caring about anything. Ralph Fiennes (Steed) has probably given his worst performance. His character in "The English Patient" had more life in him even after he crashed his plane. Uma Thurman (Emma Peel) could model clothing on a runway with more emotion and style than she displays in this "action" movie. I have to conclude that it's the director's fault regarding their performances. He must have been saying to them "Too much emotion! Play it like you have absolutely no feelings at all. You're supposed to be British."
Sean Connery plays the stock character mad villain with a certain degree of competency.
The plot is interesting in that it lacks all manner of things that make plots interesting. I'm going to sum it up right here, so if you still intend to see this "film" you'd better skip to Dave's opinion. The plot consists of the following: Our heroes snoop around the bad guy's place, get whupped and somehow find their way home. They then snoop around the bad guy's place, get whupped and find their way home. This happens one or two more times until finally they whip the bad guy and make their way home. How much was the screenwriter paid to come up with this? The plot pretty much exists to hang the little campy bits that the TV show used to much greater success.
DM: Any more time spent talking about this inept yawner would be a colossal waste.
On the other hand, if you happen to be suffering from insomnia...
Score: DM 11, DT 17