Hello Ciao reviewers! Hope your well and ready for another film review from me! Today I'm going to review a film which I have to say, disappointed me when I watched, despite the fact that the trailers looked quite good!
Have you ever noticed how they put all the good stuff into the trailers, ... Read review
The heroes of 1899 are brought to life with the help of some expensive special effects ... more
inThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. From the pages of Victorian literature come Captain Nemo, Dr Jekyll (and his alter ego Mr Hyde), Dorian Gray, Tom Sawyer, th...
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The heroes of 1899 are brought to life with the help of some expensive special effects ... more
inThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. From the pages of Victorian literature come Captain Nemo, Dr Jekyll (and his alter ego Mr Hyde), Dorian Gray, Tom Sawyer, th...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The heroes of 1899 are brought to life with the help of some expensive special effects ... more
inThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. From the pages of Victorian literature come Captain Nemo, Dr Jekyll (and his alter ego Mr Hyde), Dorian Gray, Tom Sawyer, th...
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THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN:A hunter, a scientist, a vampire, an invisible man, ... more
an immortal, a spy, a beast ... When a masked madman known as 'The Fantom' threatens to launch global Armageddon, legendary adventurer Allan Quatermain commands a...
The heroes of 1899 are brought to life with the help of some expensive special effects ... more
inThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. From the pages of Victorian literature come Captain Nemo, Dr Jekyll (and his alter ego Mr Hyde), Dorian Gray, Tom Sawyer, th...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 1 to 3 weeks...
A hunter a scientist a vampire an invisible man an immortal a spy a beast....when a ... more
masked madman known as "The Fantom" threatens to launch global Armageddon legendary adventurer Allan Quatermain (Sean Connery) commands a legion of superheroes ...
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When a masked madman known as 'The Fantom' threatens to launch global Armageddon, ... more
legendary hunter/adventurer Allen Quartermain (Sean Connery) commands a legion of superheroes, the likes of which mankind has never seen, Now, they must join forces to save the world!
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Advantages: Loved the idea of the characters! Disadvantages: Bad plot, poor acting!
...me when I watched, despite the fact that the trailers looked quite good!
Have you ever noticed how they put all the good stuff into the trailers, so you expect it to be absolutely fantastic and then sometimes it's just not! Well i'm afraid to say that The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen falls under this heading.
In the ususal style, here are some quotes from a couple of critics...
"The writing is ... ..."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?'"
Rich Cline, SHADOWS ON THE WALL
Well that's the opinion of the critics folks, which should at least give you some idea of what this film is like. Personally I couldn't agree more with these views, especially the last one!
Hello Ciao reviewers! Hope your well and ready for another film review from me! Today I'm going to review a film which I have to say, disappointed me when I watched, despite the fact that the trailers looked quite good!
Have you ever noticed how they put all the good stuff into the trailers, so you expect it to be absolutely fantastic and then sometimes it's just not! Well i'm afraid to say that The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen falls under this heading.
In the ususal style, here are some quotes from a couple of critics...
"The writing is terrible. There is no tension, no mystery, no excitement, no adventure." Liz Braun, JAM! MOVIES
"An extraordinary mess." Linda Cook, QUAD CITY TIMES (DAVENPORT, IA)
"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?'" Rich Cline, SHADOWS ON THE WALL
Well that's the opinion of the critics folks, which should at least give you some idea of what this film is like. Personally I couldn't agree more with these views, especially the last one!
Okay so here is the boring techie stuff I have to do.
***TECHIE STUFF***
The DVD is a 2 disc set
It has a 12 certificate. Nothing too bad on this film, just watch out for the vampire! A little violence and some action scenes that smaller children may find disturbing.
This film has a running time of 1 hour and 50 minutes and comes in a widescreen edition of the DVD.
Comes under the Action/Adventure/Fantasy genre with a couple of immortal beings and otherwise superheros.
Released by 20th Century Fox (What in heaven's name were they thinking!?!?!)
I usually like to buy my films and DVD's from amazon.co.uk as they are slightly cheaper. My editon cost me £8.97 and I'm going to assume that it can be bought or at least ordered from some of the major music retail shops like HMV.
***DVD SPECIAL FEATURES***
My edition came as a 2 disc set. One has the movie on it where you can select the scenes. The other disc has the following features:
Audio Commentary By Producers Don Murphy And Trevor Albert And Actors Jason Flemyng Tony Curan And Shane West Audio Commentary By Jacqueline West John Sullivan And Matthew Gratzer
Matters Of Pre Visualisation
Stills Gallery
Assembling The League
Deleted Scenes
Extended Scenes
Behind The Fantasy
European Premieres
2 Trailers
12 TV Spots
Posters
Main Language: English
Hearing Impaired: English
If I was thruthful, I was so disappointed with the film, I haven't really bothered to look at the extra features. Some I think are pretty self explanatory, but I will look at them at some stage and give an explanation of what they are! Promise!!
***ACTORS AND ACTRESSES***
Sean Connery Naseeruddin Shah Peta Wilson Tony Curran Stuart Townsend Shane West Jason Flemyng Richard Roxburgh
***CHARACTERS***
All of these characters, except for the last one are fictional characters, set in Victorian times. This was probably my favourite part of the film, seeing all of these Victorian characters coming to life.
Allan Quatermain Played by actor Sean Connery. Quatermain is the leading guy in the film. An expert in shooting, Quartermain can shoot anything up to 900 yards away. His aim is practically perfect. Quartermain holds a painful past in this movie and as an historical figure has been the subject of many books by H. Rider Haggard. Quartermain was once a firm supporter of the British Empire but Allan has changed as you find out in the plot.
Captain Nemo Played by actor Naseeruddin Shah. Captain Nemo built the Nautilus: The Sword of the Ocean. The most popular book that holds Captain Nemo's name within it's pages is 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. Captain nemo was once a warrior but wanted to explore the ocean. Nemo has greath strength and agility in a fight and is not to be underestimated.
Mina Harker Played by actress Peta Wilson. Mina was a the husband of Jonathan Harker, a british scientist like herself. Mina, her husband and Van Helsing tried to destroy Dracula but Mina was bitten by him and became a vampire herself. A very traditional woman to begin with, Mina is not afraid to show her dark side when she is threatened.
Rodney Skinner Played by actor Tony Curran. Rodney Skinner is a well known pickpocket. But Skinner, as he is known, stole a formula to make himself invisible. Unfortunately he didn't think to steal an antidote to make himself visible and is now stuck that way. He joins the League if only in the hopes of finding an antidote. He may be invisible, but that does not stop him being sneaky and underhanded.
Dorian Gray Played by actor Stuart Townsend. Possibly my favourite character for his backround and not for the actor. Dorian was orphaned when he was a small boy. After finding out that he was in fact an heir to a fortune, Dorian asked the most famous painter in the world to do a portrait of himself. Fearing I guess what we all fear...getting old, Dorian said that he would sell his soul to never age a day. His wish was granted by the Devil. But the Devil made a deal with him. The Devil cast a spell on Dorian's portrait so that the painting would age instead of him. Dorian himself would not grow one day older. The Devil said that if Dorian was to look upon his painting, the spell would be reversed and the Devil would get his soul for eternity. Dorian agreed to the deal and never aged and was an immortal. Dorian is a sly, slick haired individual with more than one secret up his sleeve. A strong fighter, Dorian is not to be messed with as you can't harm him!
Tom Sawyer Played by actor Shane West. Sawyer is I guess a rookie. A secret agent for the American Secret Service, Tom is a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants kinda guy, shooting at anything and everything. He immediately warms to Mina and he has no special abilities like the others. His desire to help the league is strong and Quartermain takes him under his wing. Although probably the youngest of the League, Tom can certainly take care of himself.
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Played by actor Jason Flemyng. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.....we all know the score. Dr Jekyll was a chemist and invented a formula to bring out his evil side: Mr Hyde. Ten times stronger and bigger, Hyde is very useful in a fight. A war wages inside of Jekyll as he struggles to contain Hyde. But maybe Hyde just wants a chance to live instead of being supressed. Jekyll is a kind man, always there to lend a hand and he knows that if his formula ever got out, the consequences would be unfathomable.
'M' Played by actor Richard Roxburgh. M is the recruiter of the League itself and is a highly suspicious character to be sure. I can't tell you to much about him yet...so you'll have to read the plot now!
***PLOT***
Set in victorian times, the film begins with what looks like an army tanker crashing through the streets of London. Eventually, the tanker smashes its way into a library and you see some plans are stolen from a vault in the library.
Cut to Afirca, Kenya to be more exact. Home of the legendary Allan Quatermain. Allan is approached by a man from the government to come to london to aide the British Empire in it's defeat of it's deadliest enemy yet. Given the situation between the great powers in the world, Allan reluctantly agrees to take the assignment and goes to London to learn more.
There Allan meets 'M', the recruiter, who tells him that the British Empire needs him to lead a team of 'Extraordinary Gentlemen' to combat a threat from the 'Phantom'. The Phantom wishes to sabotage a conference of world leaders and basically spark off a world war. Realising that he doesn't have much of a choice, Allan must find the remaining members of the league and get them to the conference which is to be held in Venice in 3 or 4 days time to stop the attack.
Allan meets and recruits Mina Harker, Rodney Skinner and Captain Nemo, but he still has to find Dorian Gray and Jekyll/Hyde. What about Sawyer I hear you cry? You'll find out where he comes in in a minute. After Allan and the others visit Dorian, he is somewhat reluctant to join the league and after an attack by the Phantom, Sawyer shows up to save the day. So that's them recruited, now Allan must track down Jekyll and Hyde in Paris.
After some persuading, Jekyll/Hyde is convinced to help the League on the condition that he can go home to England. So that's the league sorted, it's off to Venice on Captain Nemo's ship: The Nautilus.
Along the way to Venice, they find out that the plans that were stolen at the start of the film from the library, were stolen by the Phantom and they are plans of a building were the conference will be held and subsequently blown to bits.
When they arrive in Venice the attack has already started, and after managing to thwart it, they realise that they have a spy amidst their ranks, someone who set them up to go to Venice to distract them from something else. That spy is Dorian. He reveals that the man that recruited them....M....is actually the Phantom. The league also learns that M is trying steal the leagues secrets.....i.e invisibility, the designs for Nautilus, vampire blood, Jekyll's formula....all to create a race of creatures with superhuman powers like the league. M intends to harness their secrets and then sell them to the highest bidder.
Without realising it Dorian has had access to all of them and managed to gain samples of all these abilities.
Allan and the league must now go on another mission to stop Dorian and M from marketing their abilities. If anyone got hold of Mina's vamperic blood, Jekyll's formula, Nemo's science or Skinner's invisibility the world would plunge into chaos!
***MY PERSONAL OPINION***
The story was a little hard to understand, and for me, it took a while for me to get what was going on. I loved the characters in this film and the books that the writers have brought them out of. The stories behind some of the characters are fascinating to me and I would love to get my hands on some of the books with them in. In the film however, the acting was of a poor standard and non-convincing. Not exactly oscar winning performances but then again it doesn't help when the actors and actresses don't seem to fit their roles to well.
I think the fact that I would rather read the books that these characters are in, rather than watch this film, doesn't really say a lot about it! As far as I can tell, the reason that this film flopped at the box office was because it came out at the same time as films such as Lord Of The Rings. Which would you prefer to watch? :)
The characters, admittedly, have a couple of flaws too. Being a 12 rated film, I guess the writers and directors couldn't really go into depth about what the characters are really like. Hyde looks like a massive normal coloured version of the Incredible Hulk, Sawyer looks like he just came out of his kindergarden years and for a vampire, Mina doesn't sound or look anything as dark as she is supposed to.
I was surprised at the turn the film took when the alternate agenda was revealed. But then again I also looked at how far into the film I was and thought: "Oh come on, the story can't finish after an hour! There has to be something else going on!" In that sense, it made the film rather predictable. The plot just didn't appeal to me and I can honestly say that the only good thing about this movie was the characters themselves and their history....NOT THE ACTORS AND ACTRESSES!!!
Normally I would include quotes from the characters in the film, but I was so unimpressed by the dialogue spoken, that I just didn't see the point!
You may enjoy this film, it's up to you, but I know that I wouldn't watch again in a hurry!
Advantages: a superb concept, fast and occasionally fun Disadvantages: bad acting, inconsistent special effects, almost no plot, poor script
...years. Adaptations seem to be the very backbone of the film industry. Some of the greatest films of all time have been adaptations from novels, comic books, short stories and in the case of “The Fast And The Furious”, a magazine article. We today, in an age of information technology and media spin constantly see books being made into films and films being made into books. So when it was announced that some of literature’s most loved and read about ... ...high. Seeing famous characters like the Invisible Man and Dr Jekyll on the big screen with cutting edge effects power and visual driven director Stephen Norrington at the helm. After the fast and furious comic book stylings that made “Blade” a big hit, we of course would think Norrington would play the same cards again crafting the post modern Victorian world with vast, glorious imagery and visual charm. Despite its superb concept and a director ...
DarkMark 18.07.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen (DVD)
Advantages: Imaginative cast and period setting Disadvantages: Pretty much everything else
It is the late 1800s and in London, a daring bank robbery is carried out by what appears to be a group of German soldiers. With tensions between England and Germany very fraught, matters are made worse when the English apparently destroy a German air balloon factory. The attacks are in fact both carried out under the instruction of one man, a mysterious disfigured man known only as The Phantom. It transpires that The Phantom is intent on causing ... ...until conflict breaks out.
The English government subsequently decides that they need to enlist the aid of some rather special individuals to try and bring down The Phantom and an agent is despatched to Africa to approach the legendary Alan Quartermain to head up the group. Back in London, Quartermain is soon united with his new team mates, who band together to form the latest incarnation of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (LXG). They are:
...
LostWitness 18.03.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen (DVD)
Advantages: well-directed, attractive, great concept Disadvantages: shoddily scripted, badly plotted, some terrible acting
...Or perhaps attribute it to the death of the wonderful Alexander Walker, without whose expert guidance I am left floundering on a sea of cinematic confusion. Whatever it is, it amounts to me being convinced that it's worth seeing a film that has been universally panned since I might like it after all... or maybe not.
Actually, let's be fair. It's not that I didn't enjoy myself watching The League of Extraodinary Gentlemen, it's just that enjoyed ... ...(Cyber Bandits)
based on the comic books by ALAN MOORE and KEVIN O'NEILL
The camera slowly backs away from the 20th Century Fox logo as it degenerates into ruin, and sweeps down through the streets of turn-of-the-century London (not this one, the last one), past the crumbling brickwork and clanking gutters as pieces of rubble thunder down to distant explosive rumblings... then the story appears, filling us in on the impending war in the British ...
ruth_cole 18.10.2003 (21.10.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen (DVD)
Advantages: Sean Connery - he's still got it going on Disadvantages: Weak story, full of holes.
The year is 1898, and the British Empire is in trouble. There is a gang, led by the nefarious Fantom, robbing the Bank of England and causing trouble all over the world, most of which is blamed on the Germans. It's sort of a capitalist terrorism, aimed at starting a world war, which will make a whole lot of money for somebody, somewhere. The British government decides to enlist the help of several disparate Extraordinary Gentlemen, to put a stop ... ...travels to London to meet the rest of the League, and goes on to lead them.
That's all I'm going to say about the story, as I don't want to spoil it for anyone who is intending to see it. On to the other main characters:-
First we have Captain Nemo (played by Naseeruddin Shah) Oh yes, he of 20,000 Leagues under the Sea fame. He has a fabulous state of the art ship, and is fantastic with his curved scmitar. This character, was in my opinion the ...
nikki1520 26.07.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen (DVD)
Advantages: Some of the younger cast are quite good Disadvantages: Sean Connery, the story, the dialogue
...better and more expensive than the last, and 2. They have to be loud, brash and totally unrealistic.
It is normally 2 that backfires on people. Loud, brash and unrealistic works sometimes, for example in the X-men franchise, of which I am a huge fan. However, sometimes, it goes completely wrong, as with (so I’m told, I haven’t sampled its delights myself yet) The Avengers, when loud brash and unrealistic turns into annoying, farcical and over-indulged.
... ...and they both fall into the second category.
I’m not saying that The League…should never have been made, I’m just saying that whoever’s bright idea it was to turn the novel by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill should quite possibly by hanging on to their job by the skin of their pearly whites.
It’s just so implausible! A masked villain (oh, puhlease!) going by the moniker of ‘The Fantom’ is terrorising Europe, stealing weapons of ultimate destruction ...
franproc 09.11.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen (DVD)
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Advantages: Intriguing characters and wonderful spcial effects. Disadvantages: You are left wanting to see more.
I have watched League of ExtraordinaryGentlemen many times and have never tired of the intriguing characters and each of their 'special' traights. Or indeed the special effects; especially those of ' The Nautilus', makes me wish I could see it first hand for myself.
If, like me, you grew up reading Marvel comics then watching Daredevil will be like re-newing an old friendship. It reminds me of the stories I once read and is also an enjoyable film. A great action packed film, with also the hint of romance, making this a must for all the family.
Great for all the family to watch, and there are some great one-liners that made us all laugh. Two films for the price of one is a plus in my opinion, and I highly recommend this DVD. ...
Advantages: Lots of Sean Connery Disadvantages: Lots of not very good Sean Connery
This is an odd collection of more and less watchable movies with little in common except that that all feature Sean Connery in the lead role. Starting with his first post Bond role in Zardoz and finishing with his final big screen performance (to date) in The League of ExtraordinaryGentlemen, this set includes mediocre performances in some ordinary movies and serves no real purpose other than filling the gaps in your collection.
Looking at the movies in chronological order we get:
Zardoz (1974)
John Boorman was given a free hand with this psy-fi extravaganza following his success with Deliverance. Connery plays a savage called Zed on a post-apocalyptic Earth where survivors worship a floating head called Zardoz. It?s all a bit pseudo-intellectual and silly with the former James Bond forced to run around in a scarlet nappy ...
Set in Victorian England, this is the story of a collection of characters from several literary classics who have been summoned together by Queen Victoria. The collective includes Alan Quatermain from 'King Solomon's Mines' by H. Rider Haggard, Mina Harker from Bram Stoker's 'Dracula', Dorian Gray from Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture Of Dorian Gray', and 'Captain Nemo' from Jules Verne's '20,000 Leagues Under The Sea'. The characters must combine their talents to save the world.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; Deluxe Video Service - Fox, 20TH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Release date
16/02/2004, 06/03/2006
No of Discs
1, 2
Catalogue No
24226 DVD, 24226 CDVD, 2422601034
Barcode
5039036015561, 5039036015899, 5039036026345
Languages
Main Language
English
Hearing Impaired Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Audio Commentary By Producers Don Murphy And Trevor Albert And Actors Jason Flemyng Tony Curan And Shane West, Audio Commentary By Jacqueline West John Sullivan And Matthew Gratzer
Stephen Norrington's THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN begins in 1899 London where, due to some cataclysmic events in England and Germany, the world is on the brink of war. Mycroft Holmes (Richard Roxburgh) is sent by the British government to round up various figures from Victorian-era literature in an attempt to find some solution. First on the list is explorer Allan Quatermain (Sean Connery), quickly installed as leader of the ramshackle outfit. Among the plethora of mythical figures joining Quatermain are The Invisible Man, Captain Nemo, Jekyll and Hyde, Dorian Gray, and many others. Initially the League are sent to Prague to prevent a series of bombs from exploding, causing some spectacular set pieces as the merry band of rogues use all their special skills to fend off the evil forces. This is only the start of their journey however, and there are plenty of surprises for these courageous battlers, not least when they discover who is really behind all the chaos they have tried so hard to control. Working with material from comic book veteran Alan Moore (who also penned FROM HELL), director Norrington (BLADE) draws on some interesting traits and legends from his characters, such as Dorian Gray's painting and Dr. Jekyll's potion. Making sure each member is far from infallible, Norrington paints a sympathetic portrait of flawed heroes battling against the odds, with some spectacular action sequences, and humorous asides.
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