The Avengers (1998 film)

The Avengers
Company type	Film
Industry	Motion picture
Founded	1998
Founder	Jeremiah S. Chechik (director)
Products	Satirical spy action comedy film
Parent	Warner Bros.

The Avengers is a 1998 American satirical spy action comedy film helmed by Jeremiah S. Chechik, inspired by the British television series that aired from 1961 to 1969. The movie features Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman portraying secret agents John Steed and Emma Peel, respectively, with Sean Connery playing Sir August de Wynter, a scientist intent on manipulating global weather patterns. The original John Steed, Patrick Macnee, lends his voice to the character Invisible Jones.

Financially, the film did not meet expectations, generating $54.7 million worldwide against a production budget of $60 million, and it was met with predominantly unfavorable reviews from critics.

Plot

Secret agent John Steed and meteorologist Dr. Emma Peel are called to The Ministry, where their superior, Mother, informs them that the Prospero project—an initiative designed to control weather—was sabotaged by Peel herself. Denying any involvement, Peel teams up with Steed to identify the real saboteur. Mother's second-in-command, Father, proposes that Peel might be suffering from dissociative identity disorder. Their inquiry focuses on Sir August de Wynter, a former Ministry scientist who shares Peel’s fascination with meteorology.

Their investigation takes them to Wonderland Weather, a company manufacturing artificial weather phenomena through a specialized device. There, they discover two deceased individuals dressed in teddy bear costumes. De Wynter’s covert group employs these costumes as disguises; notably, one member bears an uncanny resemblance to Peel. When her double attempts suicide, Steed intervenes and rescues Peel.

At de Wynter's estate, Steed and Peel face an assault by mechanical bees but manage to flee with assistance from Alice, an experienced agent. De Wynter captures Peel and places her under hypnosis; she later escapes but becomes trapped due to the mansion’s shifting architecture until Steed arrives to save her. Subsequently, Steed dismisses Peel from the team, after which Father arrests her. To interpret a map found at Wonderland Weather, Steed consults Invisible Jones.

Steed uncovers unsuccessful cloning experiments revealing that the other Emma Peel is actually a clone and confirms Father’s collusion with de Wynter. After subduing Mother, Father and the clone kidnap Peel and ascend in a hot air balloon; during a snowstorm, Peel escapes while they perish in a crash.

Reunited, Steed and Peel share a kiss. Invisible Jones locates de Wynter’s hidden base on a secret island where he uses the Prospero device to threaten global leaders with catastrophic weather unless they comply with his demands. Amid an impending hurricane over London, Peel disables Prospero. During a duel, Steed kills de Wynter as lightning strikes disintegrate him. The agents escape before the base self-destructs and later meet Mother atop a rooftop.

Cast

Ralph Fiennes as John Steed, agent of the British Ministry
Uma Thurman as Emma Peel, scientist and Ministry operative
Sean Connery as Sir August de Wynter, weather scientist turned terrorist
Jim Broadbent as Mother, Director of the Ministry
Fiona Shaw as Father, Deputy Director at the Ministry
Eddie Izzard as Bailey, henchman to Sir August
Eileen Atkins as Alice, veteran Ministry Agent
Carmen Ejogo as Brenda, aide to Mother and Ministry Agent
John Wood as Trubshaw, Steed's tailor
Keeley Hawes as Tamara, operative working for Sir August
Patrick Macnee (voice) as Invisible Jones, Ministry Agent

Release

The film's distributor, Warner Bros., chose to withhold early press screenings, a decision often interpreted as a sign of low expectations regarding the film's reception. Initially planned for a June 1998 debut, the release was postponed until August, a period frequently regarded as a "dumping ground" for films with limited commercial prospects. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle highlighted significant plot inconsistencies caused by drastic edits following test screenings, which shortened the runtime from 115 minutes to just 89 minutes, undermining both narrative flow and continuity.

Among the excised footage was the opening scene featuring Mrs. Peel’s sinister doppelgänger infiltrating a scientific facility. Promotional trailers had showcased sequences that were ultimately excluded from the final version. The original musical score composed by Michael Kamen, which included adaptations of the iconic Avengers theme, was replaced with a new composition by Joel McNeely after Kamen withdrew due to the extensive re-editing. Despite offers from director Jeremiah Chechik, Warner Bros. has yet to release a director’s cut.

For the soundtrack, the band Radiohead recorded a rendition of "Man of War" but abandoned it after an unproductive studio session.

Box office

The Avengers debuted at number three in the box office rankings behind Saving Private Ryan and How Stella Got Her Groove Back, generating $10.3 million in its opening weekend. It earned $23.4 million domestically and $31.3 million internationally, accumulating a worldwide total of $54.7 million. Given its $60 million production budget, the film was considered a financial disappointment.

Critical response

Critics largely panned the film, which holds an 18% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 19. Audience feedback reflected similar dissatisfaction, with a CinemaScore grade of D. Longtime fans disapproved of its deviation from the original series’ style, particularly objecting to the contrived romance between Steed and Peel, while newcomers found the plot perplexing.

The screenplay, casting choices, and special effects were heavily criticized. The New York Post dismissed it as "a big fat gob of maximum crapulosity," unfavorably comparing it to Batman & Robin. The New York Daily News described it as "horrendously awful," and the Orlando Sentinel labeled it the worst film of that summer season. British reviewers shared this negative view; The Birmingham Post branded it "the worst film ever made," and Radio Times pointed out the lack of chemistry between leads Fiennes and Thurman.

Despite being penned by English writer Don Macpherson, the American production team failed to grasp essential British cultural nuances integral to the series, such as an unusual tea-dispensing device featured in Steed’s Bentley.

The New York Times observed that even with its shortened 90-minute length, the film could not be redeemed. In 2003, Total Film named Fiennes and Thurman "The Worst Movie Double Act Of All Time" based on their performances in this commercial failure.

Accolades

At the 19th Golden Raspberry Awards, The Avengers received nine nominations including Worst Picture, Worst Director (Jeremiah Chechik), Worst Screenplay (Don Macpherson), along with acting nods for Connery, Thurman, and Fiennes. It secured a win for Worst Remake or Sequel.

Additionally, it garnered eight Stinker Award nominations and won for Worst Resurrection of a TV Show.

Novelization

Julie Kaewert transformed the original screenplay into a novel, including all footage that was initially shot but ultimately excluded from the theatrical release.

External links