The Avengers: Number One in "Movies that Shouldn't Get Made" Category

Essay by LuxalotCollege, UndergraduateA+, February 2004

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Every now and then, Hollywood tries to test moviegoers' patience by releasing pap that no reasonable citizen of the United States should bother to watch. Nevertheless, discerning viewers are constantly bombarded by films that should never be made. One terrific example of a movie fitting this description is Jeremiah Chechik's 1998 release, The Avengers, which stars Ralph Fiennes and a beguiling Uma Thurmann. The premise is interesting enough, but then one must take into account the fact that it is based on an old TV series starring actors who could, uh, act. The movie version of this television classic is, sadly, the cinematographic equivalent to songs that should never be remade, such as the most recent White Stripes song "Fell in Love with a Girl," remade by the horrific Joss Stone. Yes, The Avengers represents a great part of what is wrong with twentieth century film.

First of all, before one decides whether or not a plot is believable, they must understand the basic plot.

The movie does not, however, contain a discernable plot, and if you're a moviegoer unfamiliar with the premise of the television show, you can bet you will be lost amid the fantastic leather, swirling colors, and the Matchbox 20 look-alike actors with bad eye makeup. Film critic Latirsha Adams asserts this in her 1998 review of the film: "Even though I was familiar with the grand television program that was The Avengers, the plot of this movie made little sense. I can only imagine what folks who haven't seen the movie are thinking" (Adams 4). People who want to see plotless films are lined up for Paul Thomas Anderson's latest annoying character study, not a film purporting to be the best cult film of 1998.

I have an interesting question: what film school in the...