Please don't spend money on this.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

As a kid this was actually my first introduction to the series, then I watched the Tara King season when it was repeated by Channel 4 in the early 80s, then I caught up with the earlier seasons via DVD.Very interesting, acts almost as a bridging ep between the old Avengers and The Professionals. Very much more set in the real world than it's predecessors, uniformed policemen, drugs, poor people, the Cold War with the Soviet Union replacing some unnamed 'foreign power'. More violent, gunfights (which Patrick McNee always tried to avoid due to his World War 2 combat experiences), car chases and fight scenes with a lot more vigour than before. Still no blood and no women getting killed (good!), still gentlemen spies and villains. The structure of 2 young agents supervised by a stern yet affectionate superior is repeated in The Professionals and Mike Gambit is very much a prototype for Bodie in a great many ways in terms of style and background. Given the success of Purdey's character it almost seems strange that they didn't try to introduce a female CI5 agents into the mix? But maybe that would have seemed too close? Of course one episode actually features future Professionals Martin Shaw and Lewis Collins as the villains, Collins remarking to Shaw that they "Make a good team, we should work together again some time".McNee still magnificent as ever especially in 'Dead Men are Dangerous' which is extremely good, possibly the best ep ever. If there's a weakness to the series it's the sometimes rather ropey special effects (especially the 'giant' rat), a lack of budget and the endlessly repeated cliché off a dying man's final words setting the team off on their adventure. The Canada eps are a little flat but no offence to the canucks 70s Canada didn't lend it's much to great drama as Brian Clemens comments. The French eps are much better, Paris lending itself to the Avengers and the idea of literal Soviet 'sleeper agents' terrific. All told it's a classic even if very much of it's time and well worth the look.

If you were a child of the 1970s, then you will probably remember this as the definitive Avengers, and find the original rather odd. It's not to say I dislike the original, but when I watched The New Avengers in the 1970s, it had that sense of realism and style that was very formative in my younger days.Technically, the 1970s saw lighter cameras and greater use of location filming, two things that made The New Avengers different from its forebear. These enabled the series to be grittier, in keeping with the mood of the time. Preserving the fanciful, "British Batman" ideals of the 1960s' series would have gone sharply against the realism that viewers demanded in the 1970s. Britons (and plenty of people worldwide) wanted to see Britain, not a studio mock-up of it. And car chases were de rigueur. On these counts, The New Avengers delivered.Purdey, not Emma Peel, was the first strong female character I knew on television. Columbia Pictures Television's Police Woman seemed phoney with Angie Dickinson getting her gun out of her handbag; it was Joanna Lumley's willingness to do her own action sequences that made her Purdey character more convincing. The fact she did her high kicks while wearing Laura Ashley, and not encased in PVC, did not seem strange; it was more her short hair that naice girls on telly did not have.And because I was introduced to the Avengers' mystique through this series, I have always been used to the idea of Patrick Macnee's John Steed being the elder statesman. The suggestive nature of his relationships with his female partners in the 1960s seemed inappropriate when I viewed The Avengers in re-runs (and Macnee once quipped that he felt John Steed did consummate his relationships 'continuously and in his spare time'). The Gambit character played by Gareth Hunt was more my idea of the action-oriented British gent who had spent time in the military, though I recall both being relatively wooden, save for a few episodes.The spy story lines were entertaining, and I understand the original series' fans being less than impressed. But they were a clever differentiation from the typical cop shows of the decade, and even though there were some corners cut (using old footage of Diana Rigg in one episode), I never felt cheated by The New Avengers. The thriller style that Brian Clemens and his team introduced to this series kept viewers on the edge of their seats, and it must have been good enough to warrant a second season at the time—even if the latter was partly made in France and Canada. Even then, the episodes were not as bad as some have made out—Continental filming, in particular, gave me one of my earliest impressions of Europe. I don't think I had seen anything made in Canada prior to The New Avengers.In many respects, The New Avengers was more a forerunner to The Professionals—one of the greatest British TV actioners made—than a successor to The Avengers. It had the same producers and very similar crews. By coincidence, The Professionals' Lewis Collins and Martin Shaw guest-starred together in one episode. And, like The Professionals, it gave the sense that after an hour, you got great value. The same could not be said for most TV series of this genre today, made to please a network and an accounting firm rather than the audience.

Patrick MacNee made a welcome return, in The New Avengers. This time, he had two assistants, Purdy and Mike Gambit. Gambit was supposed to handle the action, while Steed was more in the background, but Patrick MacNee soon set this right. The stories were a mixed bag, as the formula fell prey to time and finance. Also, the surreal nature of the 60's was replaced by the relevance of the 70's.MacNee was in fine form, especially after he dropped some weight and showed that he was still able to hold his own with his young upstarts. He could still charm a lion into giving up its kill and shaving its mane, while dazzling the ladies of any age.Gareth Hunt was a bit "hit-or-miss" as Mike Gambit. He lacked Steed's charm and was more of tough guy, which didn't mesh as well with the series formula. Steed got all of the best lines, so Gambit was left to scowl and punch. He was good with the action, but would have been better suited to a more realistic series.Joanna Lumley was a treat as Purdy. She was funny, charming, and a good fighter, the perfect embodiment of Steed's female partner. She had a miscievious nature and a stunning look. It's hard to believe that the beautiful and likable Purdy would later become the irrepressible Patsy Stone. Well, it would be if Joanna Lumley were less of an actress.The series was uneven, handicapped by budget and a lack of imagination. The best episodes were in the first series and hewed closest to the old formula.Perhaps time had passed the series by, but they made a valiant effort. Personal favorites include The Eagle's Nest, House of Cards, The Last of the Cybernauts, Target, and Dirtier by the Dozen. The series was hard to catch in the US, playing late night on CBS. Now, thanks again to A&E, The New Avengers live again on DVD. Still waiting for those extras, though.Love that lion/Union Jack symbol.

This is an apology for all the cursing and bad-mouthing that I had done before having actually seen this show. For those who have not watched the New Avengers, you may feel the same way. How can there be Avengers without Emma Peel? I went in with a skeptical mind, and came out feeling ashamed. There is nothing wrong with these episodes (I should say that I have not seen them all) that is as bad as what has been said about them.Certainly, it will be said that I am an American, and that I would never see any harm in fist-fights and coarse manners. I enjoy every episode of the refinement that the 1960's Steed brought to the show. I feel that the New Avengers is not about reviving the prior series, but about giving it some new direction. Not many will agree that the two series have much in common, but what is there is done well. Patrick Macnee is still there, but he is seen as more of a fatherly figure than that of a partner. The rest of the cast is superb, though there are several serious gaffs.If you are an Avengers fan expecting to find Emma Peel in her leather outfit toasting champaign with a brolley toting Steed, you won't be satisfied by this show. If you do have the time, and are willing to be unbiased in your opinion, please try this one out. It surprised me, and I feel as thought it may surprise you too.