'The Avengers' offers a trip down an English memory lane

By Lilia Syarif Naga

JAKARTA (JP): Remaking old films is currently in vogue, and we now have the chance to take a peek at a new version of The Avengers, an adaption of Thorn EMI's TV series of the 1960s.

In the past, the jolly couple was Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg. The 1998 film version teams up Ralph Fiennes (the lead in The English Patient) as the smart John Steed and Uma Thurman (remember her as Poison Ivy in Batman and Robin?) in the role of the resourceful and self-defense skilled Emma Peel, sometimes preferably addressed as Mrs. Peel.

The Avengers commences with a thrilling fight with Steed; afterwards we are served a dose of all things typically English -- countryside, lifestyle, accents and oh, not to forget, the tea.

Evil meteorologist Sir August De Wynter (comically played by Sean Connery) is the main antagonist who evokes calamity and catastrophe, and generates plenty of improbabilities in this film. The British government, in this case represented by an invisible prime minister, is panicked when De Wynter threats to disturb the global climate unless all nations give him 10 percent of their gross national product.

Seemingly the only party concerned about this problem is the British ultrasecret agency, the Ministry, which hurriedly assigns Steed to solve the problem.

The first assignment for Steed is to find his partner. Peel, who fences superbly and plays chess without looking at the board, always outsmarts Steed. Nevertheless, she always tries to conceal her pride and soothe his hurt by saying blithely: "It is only a game, OK?".

The Avengers is rife with funny pleasantries, with each character conforming to the hilt with stereotyped Englishness. Center of the action is a small island in the middle of London ("can you find it on the map?") from where Sir August De Wynter, with all his bizarre contraptions and a bunch of crafty henchmen, plans to conquer the world. He is also assisted by a group of scientists forced to help him, who wear funny bear costumes when they convene at De Wynter's mansion.

Steed and Mrs. Peel take their detective job fervently but they are puzzled by a dead-ringer for the latter (she is a product of cloning). The smart duo copes with this difficult situation but, like the saying says, "the worst enemy usually comes from the inside". In this case it is a top agency executive, nicknamed The Father, but actually a female.

Directed by Jeremiah Chechik, The Avengers is filled with cutting-edge special effects. The flow is nicely interwoven with a dynamic, stimulating score befitting an action flick.

The audience of this movie may be occasionally surprised by the technical tricks, but the violence is not that prevalent. Perhaps it is because the English are not really into violence, which is why some people admire them along with their legendary air of confidence.

American Thurman tries hard to grasp the English accent, with not unpleasant results.

Steed and Peel, thrown together in spontaneous companionship, manage to conceal their passion for each other.

Peel steps out in snazzy, sexy outfits while John Steed is harnessed with a dapper bowler hat and a vest (both bulletproof) and a black umbrella (You guessed it, a sword in disguise).

Warner Bros made this film in a comedy-action mix but, of course, not of the Mr. Bean variety. Audiences may have to think now and then about the typically dry and ironic English wit.

In the first encounter between Sir August De Wynter and John Steed, they exchange harsh words like two children sneering at each other. And Peel and Steed set eyes on each other for the first time in a gentlemen's club, established in 1726 and exclusively for men. But Peel still trespasses boldly.

Great fans of Connery might be disappointed that he is playing the crook. Still, it is amusing to see the former James Bond clad in a traditional Scots costume and issuing a threat to a group of cowering world leaders.

Produced by Jerry Weintraub and written by Don MacPherson, the film does lack the urbane, humane tradition of the original TV version.

Nevertheless, The Avengers is the kind of film which yields a big grin, and most of all succeeds as good entertainment.