From the panning on release to the fact that its terrestrial premiere took place on Channel 5, the world clearly had it in for the Thurman/Feinnes update of the bowlers ‘n’ catsuits whimsidelica original. And up to a point, quite rightly so – Feinnes is crap, cameos from Eddie ‘international conspiracy that insists he can act’ Izzard and Shaun Ryder are embarrassing and it proves, once and for all, that you just can’t *do* this kind of stuff anymore, no matter how post-modernistically you try and wrestle with it (makers of the sooncome Prisoner film take note). But, and it’s admittedly a small but, you do get a kilted Sean Connery, an invisible Patrick Macnee, and a wheelchair-bound Jim ‘Liverpool Victoria’ Broadbent. Unless you’re a truly devout fan of Blackman and co. it’s worth a look once, and unlike the more celebrated Mission: Impossible, Batman etc. which really blew it by being successful, thus besmirching the good name of the originals, at least this one just apologised and quietly buggered off.
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