‘Avengers’ Moves Audience--to Fidgeting

In “The Avengers,” Emma Peel (Uma Thurman) and John Steed (Ralph Fiennes) join forces to battle an evil genius (Sean Connery) who uses weather to mess big-time with London and beyond. Rated PG-13.

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Most kids who turned up for “The Avengers” in Brea hadn’t seen the original TV series that once excited their parents. After sitting through the Hollywood version, they were hard-pressed to see the appeal.

This take on “The Avengers,” bloated with special effects but minus the television series’ wit, left them as cold as villain Connery’s evil weather-churning gizmos. They didn’t laugh at the weak gags or settle into the confusing plot.

Molly Fox, 11, of Brea, went because her dad (an “Avengers” loyalist) recommended it--and because she likes Thurman.

“He said [the characters and story] were gonna be real good,” Molly said. “He was all wrong; it was just boring. [Thurman] was OK, though.”

The movie gets off to a promising start as Steed, the epitome of English upper-class style, meets Peel, a brilliant, leather-clad bombshell, and they embark on their secret mission. After that, it’s rocky, especially once a wildly overacting Connery joins the party.

Paul Evaristo, 14, of Brea, lost track of the story, because he didn’t find it interesting and because it was so convoluted.

“Did [Connery] used to be [an ally] of [Peel]?” he asked, exasperated. “And he was making storms all over to do what--kill the world?”

Kenny Pearsall, 12, of La Habra thought the plot murky and the pace slow. “Sometimes it picked up, but mostly it just didn’t do anything.”

Kenny wasn’t even inspired by a rain- and lightning-filled confrontation between Connery’s character and the heroes: “Everyone got wet and hit on each other. Who cares?”

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PARENT’S PERSPECTIVE: The action is basically bloodless; there’s little profanity and a single, almost chaste kiss between Peel and Steed. Those were the only pluses for Larry Morris of Fullerton.

“How could you go wrong with those three [stars] and ‘The Avengers’ as a plot?” Morris wondered. “Well, they did.”