The First Avenger - RIP Patrick Macnee

He was the quintessential English gentleman - forever associated with the bowler hat and umbrella, Patrick Macnee will for many people be remembered as John Steed in the cult TV shows,The Avengers and the New Avengers. Born in 1922, Macnee's life was as colourful as the characters he often played - expelled from Eton for selling pornography and running a bookmaker business. He served in the Royal Navy during world war II. He took up acting following the war and appeared uncredited in many films before getting a role as Jacob Marley in  Scrooge(1951).

In 1961 Macnee took the role of John Steed in The Avengers, which was originally intended to be a vehicle for Ian Hendry who played Dr David Keel while Macnee was his sidekick. However Hendry left after the first series and the character of John Steed became the focus point. The series would run for six seasons with Macnee being partnered with a string of glamorous female assistants. This was the height of the James Bond/Spy mania and The Avengers became something of an odd  and very stylish, not to mention surreal 1960's masterpiece.


''So very sad to hear Pat MacNee has left us. We were mates from 1950s and I have so many happy memories of working with him. A true gent.'' Roger Moore


The show was brought back in 1976 as the New Avengers with Macnee partnered with Joanna Lumley as Purdey and Gareth Hunt as Gambit. The new series only ran for two seasons but these days is as fondly remembered as the groundbreaking earlier show.

In 1985 Macnee was back in the spy genre playing alongside Roger Moore in Moore's final Bond movie, A View to a Kill. The chemistry between the two actors is one of the high points of the movie. Macnee had of course previously appeared with Moore when he took on the role of Dr Watson to Moore's Sherlock Holmes in the terrible but oddly watchable  1976 TV movie, Sherlock Holmes in New York.

Macnee died aged 93 on June 25th 2016.

The Ultimate Avengers

Mark (Kick Arse) Miller's  Ultimates, upon which this animated movie is based, was a retelling of The Avengers storyline in a much more mature way than was usual for the title, but it's just a shame that this movie didn't manage to  retain the same tone. It does aim for a adult audience though and it is a little too serious for younger children, but it just doesn't manage to hold it together in the way DC's animated movies do. Marvel may currently rule the live action super hero movie, but they just don't some close to DC in the animated stakes. I think with some of the better DC animations you are sucked into the story to such an extent that it seems to become a live action experience, but not once while watching The Avengers did I forget that I was watching an animated adventure. There were parts that were very cartoonish.



"It's too violent for younger viewers, but not mature enough for older ones. It's a movie trapped in between target audiences." Film Critic, David Cornelius

The film starts off during World War II and we discover that Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America has been frozen. We then jump forward to the present day when Cap is found and thawed out to face a baffling new world.  Then we have Nick Fury trying to form the Avengers in order to thwart an alien invasion, which the team eventually do but then find themselves having to battle the Hulk and it is in these scenes that the movie really comes alive. As with the Avengers live action movie, the Hulk is the star of the show. Iron Man comes across as a little bland which is not the case with the live action movies and out of the Avengers it is Captain America and The Black Widow who are the most interesting characters.

Now I don't consider myself to be a hardcore comic book geek, but I have known these characters since I was a kid and have read many many comic books, and I found this movie to be good but ultimately disappointing next to the animated DC movies I've seen of late. Maybe if I hadn't been aware of the heights DC were hitting with their animated films, then I would have though better of this one.But there we have it - it is a good film and the final battle with the Hulk is paced well and full of humour.

The film is currently available as a triple set along with The Ultimate Avengers 2 and the Next Avengers, and at  the budget price it is truly a bargain, and provides big entertainment for a small amount of cash.

A new Hulk movie - smashing!

It was 1978's Superman that finally did it - proved that a superhero movie could actually be good and contain real substance. Tim Burton's Batman was another and these films sparked off a cinema love affair with superheroes that has culminated  this year in the truly excellent Avengers Assemble. To get to the current point we have sat through a minefield of movies from the good, The X Men, to the bad, Elektra, and it's worth remembering how risky the big budget Avengers Assemble actually was.

OK the waters were tested with successful versions of Thor, Captain America and Iron Man, but both of the recent Hulk movies didn't exactly set the box office world on fire, and it is are for a superhero team up miovie not to stink. Granted the original X Men was excellent, but both of the Fantastic Four movies released recently were nothing more than OK. Spider-Man 3 bombed and neither Superman Returns or Ghost Rider were as successful as had been hoped.

 Ironically it looks like it is the Hulk who has most benefited from the Avengers, and there is now plans for a stand alone Hulk movie with Mark Ruffalo, the screens best Hulk, in the role.

1990's Captain America

Captain America is now firmly established in the movie fans mind - what with the successful first movie, his starring role in The Avengers and the forthcoming Captain America II, but the character had less than an easy road towards mega success, and there have been several bland Captain America movies produced, both for the cinema and as TV movies.

2012 though looks like being a big year for Superhero movies - we've had the mega successful, The Avengers and still have The Dark Knight Rises, and the new Spider-Man reboot to come. And next year this will be followed up with, Man of Steel (Superman), Iron Man 3, Thor 2, The Wolverine and Ninja Turtles. And 2014 also has several super hero flicks already scheduled including Captain America 2 and, if rumors are to be believed, the new Hulk movie. Though 1015 seems likely for a Hulk standalone movie as Marvel have with the exception of the already greenlit, Avengers 2, a clean slate for that year. This would mean we'd get Avengers 2 and a Hulk movie in the same year - that would work, though. After all this year we do get both Avengers Assemble and Iron Man 3.

"From Superman to Batman, superhero films have much to teach us about faith and humanity – as well as being terrific visual spectacle." Tom Hiddleston

Superhero movies will be around for a long time and although most of the iconic superheros have now made it to the big screen, there are still many more waiting to take the leap. There is talk of a Wonder Woman and also an Avengers style team up for Justice League of America - A JLA movie would be interesting but the main characters Superman and Batman occupy very different cinematic worlds. Still it could be a possibility - after all who would have thought, The Avengers would work?

It'll be interesting to see how Marvel  handles a new Hulk film. With Mark Ruffalo they have the best actor ever to play him: the scenes as Bruce Banner are sad and nuanced, and the Hulk is believable as never before. This is largely because director, Whedon understood that we didn't want a tortured Hulk, we just wanted a big green destruction machine. And allowing Banner to change into the Hulk at will was a smart move and gives much more scope for a future movie. There are only so many times we can watch Banner hunt for an antidote to his green skinned infliction.

AVENGERS - RARE TV PROMO

This ABC television ad was made to promote the 5th season (the first to be filmed in color) which debuted in America in January 1967. Previously, in the spring of '66, the black & white 4th season was shown in the U.S. and proved popular enough for ABC to pay an unprecedented $2 million for 26 episodes. However, they insisted the new shows be in color.

This promo is the only colour footage of Diana Rigg in her iconic leather catsuit. Her wardrobe for the 5th season was entirely revamped with brightly colored outfits. The Arabian-style set was probably left over from "Honey for the Prince", the final 4th season episode. Note how Patrick Macnee suddenly changes from a regular suit to a tuxedo. Rigg also makes a split-second wardrobe change. This suggests this may have been edited together from two different versions.

The promo is followed by a classic Emma Peel action scene from "Death at Bargain Prices". This episode introduced the famous cat-suit. Mrs. Peel wore it -- along with silver gloves, boots, and a sash -- while working in a store's space-age toys department. She went on to wear this outfit, minus the silver boots, in many more fondly-remembered episodes.

The stars and stripes

Producers of the forthcoming movie, Captain America: The First Avenger knew they had a problem with the iconic costume. Unlike Batman, where the black suits lends itself well for the transition from comic book to silver screen, Cap's costume is little more than the stars and stripes and could leave theatregoers giggling. The producers have tweaked the characters origin somewhat and come up with a great explanation for the suit.

"The costume is a flag, but the way we're getting around that is we have Steve Rogers forced into the USO circuit. After he's made into this super-soldier, they decide they can't send him into combat and risk him getting killed. He's the only one and they can't make more. So they say, 'You're going to be in this USO show' and they give him a flag suit. He can't wait to get out of it." Director Joe Johnson.

The news the fans are waiting for is who will be cast as the super-soldier?

"Well, we're testing five or six guys," Johnston said. "The youngest is 23, the oldest is 32. Most of the guys in the war are just kids, 18 or 19, but we want to go a little bit older. We have to have somebody locked in before I leave March 1 for London."

A challenge, he said, is finding an actor that can play scenes as "98-pound-weakling" Steve Rogers and also pull off the brawny hero scenes, although some visual effects wizardry will come into play. Johnson has plenty of experience on that front as the director of "Jumanji," "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" and "Jurassic Park III" He also had art director credits on major Lucasfilm projects, including "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "The Empire Strikes Back."