The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Movie Review:

The concept of the new blockbuster The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is appealing and original, but the film itself comes nowhere close to be a
unique and amusing blockbuster.

Based on the graphic novel/comic book, LXG comprises of a group of literary characters as heroes fighting together to save the world. The time is 1890, a scar ridden madman known only as the Fathom plans to take over the world by killing every country’s political leaders. The Fantom and his goon squad are equipped with new state of the art weaponry, which includes automatic
machine guns, bombs, and armored tanks.

In fear for the world, a British problem solver known only as M (Moulin Rouge’s Richard Roxburgh) recruits a group of individuals known as LXG to save the world from chaos. Their leader is the aging hunter and explorer Allan Quatermain (Sean Connery), who is the famous literary character from writer H. Rider Haggard. The team’s navigator is the pirate scientist Captain Nemo (Monsoon
Wedding’s Naseeruddin Shah) from Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.

The one woman of the group is the vampire Mina Harker (Peta Wilson) from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Another immortal is the un-aging aristocrat Dorian Gray (Stuart Townsend), who was created by Oscar Wilde. Rodney Skinner is a likeable
thief that is also an invisible man, which is comprised from H.G. Wells. Robert Louis Stevenson’s Dr. Jeykll & Mr. Hyde (Jason Flemyng) bring two different characters in one to the team as a brilliant chemist and an uncontrollable
monster. Lastly, there is the all grown up Agent Tom Sawyer (A Walk to Remember ’s Shane West) from Mark Twain, who is a member of the newly formed U.S. Secret Service. Not all liking one another at first, the members eventually learn
to adapt to one another. The league then boards Captain Nemo’s incredible submarine, the Nautilus, to set out to stop the evil in the world unleashed by
the Fantom.

This film really never gets going from the beginning. The association of literary characters is inventive, but director Stephen Norrington and writer
James Dale Robinson take their own liberties in devising the characters from the literary works. An example is that Tom Sawyer is put into the story when he is in his early twenties working for the government, rather than the young compulsive, but smart southern boy icon that Mark Twain first wrote about. The creators also failed to notice that Mina Harker is a vampire, so she is not suppose to be able to mosey around the top of Captain Nemo’s submarine in the sunlight. Norrington, who also directed another comic book adaptation Blade
(1998), also seems to have no threshold of consistency. The pacing of the film is very sluggish and gets out of hand with the film’s added secrets and surprises.

The script by Robinson is poorly written and it seemed that the writer was reaching to create relationships that were not there, such as Quatermain and Sawyer’s father-son relationship or the few members that wanted to start a
romance with Mina Harker. Also, the transformation of Jeykll to Hyde moments will bring back memories from The Hulk, but the special effects at the end of the film are terribly worse. It seemed that the concept from the graphic novel/comic book was just thrown together to get these characters together and then show off a lot of expensive special effects.

Sean Connery dawns the hat of the famous hunter Allan Quatermain and delivers one of the shallowest performances of his entire career. Connery’s work
just is not as compelling or engaging as usual. This might be to blame due to Connery and Norrington fighting everyday on the set over differences in the
film. As for the rest of the cast; Shane West still has a way to come with his acting as Sawyer, PetaWilson is sexy as the vampire Mina Harker, Stuart Townsend is prissy as Dorian Gray, and Jason Flemyng is well cast as Dr. Jekyll/Mr.
Hyde as is Naseeruddin Shah as Captain Nemo.

The literary character concept of LXG is the one interesting aspect about the film, everything is pretty stale. There is no consistency in this film
with the filmmakers having their own way with the literary characters in an attempt to make a unique adventure summer blockbuster, but they ultimately fail.

Grade: D+

07/11/03
By Joseph Tucker

Ever imagined or played the game where you fantasize if you could invite any five literary figures over for dinner, who would they be? What would they talk about? What would they have in common? And what would it be like to go on an adventure with them. That is what acclaimed comics writer Alan Moore must have thought when he created the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Alan Moore teamed with artist Kevin O’Neil and together they conceived a world where six literary figures are brought together by the British government to stop a madman. The five figures the writers chose were Allan Quatermain (from H. Rider Haggard’s “King Solomon’s Mines”), Mina Murray (from Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”), Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde (from Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”), Hawley Griffin (from H.G.Wells “The Invisible Man”) and Captain Nemo (from Jules Verne’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”).

In the 2003 film based on the comic series, a couple changes have been made. Due to rights issues, Invisible Man Hawley Griffin is now renamed Rodney Skinner (Tony Curran), British secret agent Campion Bond has been replaced with tormented immortal Dorian Gray (Stuart Townsend), and US spy Tom Sawyer (Shane West) has been added. Sean Connery plays League patriarch Allan Quatermain. Peta Wilson plays Mina Harker (Murray in the comic). Jason Flemyng plays Jekyll and Hyde. Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah plays Captain Nemo.

The setup for the film is very much the way Moore had imagined with these literary figures coming together. The new “League” has to stop a mysterious terrorist known only as “The Phantom” from leveling Venice with a large bomb. Before all is done the League will uncover the Phantom’s even deadlier master plan, a traitor in their midst and before all is done face some of their own demons.

The film has an impressive look and an engaging premise. Just watching these literary figures interact and bounce against one and another is pure enjoyment. Connery is great as stuffy great-white-hunter Quatermain. Townsend revels in his portrayal of Dorian Gray. It seems so utterly comfortable for him. I also really enjoyed Jason Flemyng as Jekyll and Hyde. His Hyde is a dead-ringer for the comic and it is an amazing job on the make-up.

The biggest problem is the film’s translation. The presentation makes sure you know who everybody is and does a wonderful time showing us but with so much time on that it doesn’t give us much time for the mission. I really loved watching the characters interact and reveal their demons. But so much time was focused on them that we forgot why they were assembled.

I wanted more time on the characters reacting to the story and becoming involved in it. I wanted the film to be more about the traitor and the mystery of the Phantom. There had to be a happy medium reached for this film to work.

The fight sequences are rushed and forgettable. Every time you turn around the group seems to be either being blown up by a bomb or trying to find one. There are just too many bombs in this film.

The comic book celebrated literature and in some ways became a more in-depth literary medium. The film version takes the literary elements and puts them in a comic book world and practically forgets why they are special.

League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a success as a popcorn movie and if you don’t know the comic. It is also a treat to watch if you fantasize about a literary dinner. But it could have been so much better if some sections didn’t feel forced or overtly rushed.

(3 out of 5)

So Says the Soothsayer.

Dean Kish

1899 and a mysterious madman known as The Fantom is intent on driving the nations of the world to war so he can make an enormous amount of money selling his high-tech weapons to the highest bidder. The British Government have uncovered his plot however and charged M (Roxburgh) with putting together a team to combat this menace to world peace. Led by legendary adventurer Allan Quatermain (Connery) together with vampire Mina Harker (Wilson), the invisible Rodney Skinner (Curran), immortal Dorian Grey (Townsend), secret agent Tom Sawyer (West), Captain Nemo (Shah) and the split personality of Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde (Flemyng), the group form The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

The glut of comic book to movie adaptations continues but the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is slightly different to your usual spandex wearing superhero fare.

Based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill, The League is made up of Victorian literary heroes battling evil at the end of the 19th century. A very intriguing premise indeed. The idea of bringing together the likes of Allan Quatermain, The Invisible Man, Captain Nemo and other famous characters of the time should have been cinematic gold but The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen seems to lack the potential it really had.

Now whether this was down to the rumoured tension on the set between star Sean Connery and director Stephen Norrington or pressure and interference from 20th Century Fox to produce another marketing gold mine like its X-Men franchise, we will never know because which ever it was, the movie suffers for it.

There is no denying that the film looks spectacular. 19th Century London and Venice are superbly recreated in some truly impressive sets. The characters themselves are expertly realised by the costume department and the actors that play them. Sean Connery does an excellent job as adventurer Quatermain, Stuart Townsend has all the best lines as Dorian Grey and Peta Wilson is as beautiful as she is scary. The special effects are good, with the Invisible Man and Captain Nemo’s Nautilus brilliantly brought to life, even though some of the effects in the final fight scenes are abit ropy at times.

These strong positives are slightly counteracted by a few shortcomings. First the script isn’t detailed enough. The Fantom’s motivations are never truly explained, it is just implied that money is his driving force. Also with such a large group of central characters, the background stories of some of the League are not really fleshed out. For example, how come Tom Sawyer is now a US secret agent and what is he doing in Britain?

These faults aside, there is still quite a lot to enjoy but you will end up thinking that The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen could have been and should have been so much more than just an above average popcorn movie.

Star Rating = * * *

Jamie Kelwick

This is a great idea, but it's also one of those inept, out-of-control action blockbusters that wastes so much money and talent you want to cry. It's 1899 and there's a threat against Europe that forces the head of British intelligence (Roxburgh) to call on people we know these as fictional characters, but here they're like Victorian superheroes: adventurer Allan Quartermain (Connery), immortal Dorian Gray (Townsend), vampire Mina Harker (Wilson), Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde (Flemyng), Captain Nemo (Shah), an invisible man (Curran) and the American Tom Sawyer (Shane West).

Together they track down the shadowy and villainous Fantom to stop him from taking over the world (I assume that was his nefarious plan ... it was hard to tell).

The more you think about the film, the more it falls to pieces. It's riddled with logistical and continuity errors that keep the audience continually uttering "Huh?" while the story veers from comic book excess to over-serious Hollywood mush.

Connery doesn't bother to play the role at all, and his character throws the film off balance, taking over the story with unnecessary subplots and moments of meaningful heroic gibberish as he passes wisdom to the young Sawyer. Oh please! The rest of the cast camp it up frightfully but without a sense of humour; we never like any of them.

The film is bereft of wit, despite attempting several lame jokes. And this is the biggest problem: For a tale that depends on a suspension of disbelief, it's completely lacking in fun and adventure. Director Norrington just powers forward mindlessly, full of self-important posturing even though it's ridiculous (I mean honestly, the car and submarine alone will generate hours dialog about the film's logical incongruities).

Meanwhile, Robinson's script is derivative, corny and full of irksome anachronisms. The effects are impressive and completely inappropriate, driving the story instead of the other way round (Mr Hyde's rubbery Hulk-like figure is a serious misstep, especially this summer!).

Everything is just completely wrong about this film--production design, editing, you name it. And if I have to say one good thing, well ... it's not boring for a second!

Rich Cline

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