'Allo! I'm not contributing to Ciao for the time being but if you are bored / desperate / weird enou...
'Allo! I'm not contributing to Ciao for the time being but if you are bored / desperate / weird enough to wish to continue to read my ramblings, you can find me on Dooyoo under the user name plipplop. See you around! :P
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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 world war and plans to commit one atrocity after enough 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:
Allan Quatermain – a legendary adventurer skilled in combat and weaponry. Captain Nemo – the fabled pirate who captains the legendary Nautilus submarine. The Invisible Man - a cheeky Cockney who has discovered the secret to becoming invisible. Mina Harker – a beautiful widow who conceals a dark secret – she’s a vampire. Dr
Jekyll – a famous scientist who has discovered a special potion that can transform him into a brutish creature known as Mr Hyde. Dorian Gray – a pompous but virtually invulnerable man with a secret past.
Soon, the fate of the world rests in the heroes’ hands – but one of them is not quite what he/she appears to be…….
Based on Alan Moore’s cult graphic novel, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (LXG hereafter) is the latest (and probably the most unusual) in an ever-growing series of comic-book adaptations. Filled with imagination, it is hard to conceive that such a tale could be made into such a disappointing film, but this is sadly very much the case.
LXG fails in a number of different ways. Firstly, the basic story line is fundamentally very uninteresting and generally quite uninspiring. Here we have a tale about seven very powerful individuals who are pitched against one, rather unimpressive bad guy in a mask. The threat to the world simply isn’t demonstrated in a way that would hold your interest and as things stagger along, you really can’t help thinking that a better threat to world peace could have been found. The Phantom is something of a cliché – disfigured men in face masks are starting to wear a bit thin now – and simply isn’t an adequate foe for the seven heroes. The ending is a terrible anti-climax too – as the final credits rolled, I found myself questioning what the point of the whole thing was.
The next problem is that there is no connection between the members of the LXG and they just don’t fit together at all. Quatermain is unlike the others in that he doesn’t really have any super powers, and at times he feels like a bit of a fraud. I was never quite sure why we were supposed to admire him so much or quite why we would believe that he would be selected to head up the group. The Invisible Man is of no real use and in an incredibly ironic plot twist he simply disappears from the story for a fairly protracted part of the film. Captain Nemo is and looks utterly ridiculous in a pair of old-fashioned pantaloons and whereas the other members have a certain gothic style about them, Nemo literally looks like a pantomime character. Dorian Gray is intensely irritating, spending most of his time strutting around the place and having very little of any use to add to the proceedings. The only really likeable team member is the vampire (Mina) who has far more presence than the rest of the LXG.
Furthermore, the film is made far worse by the presence of Sean Connery. Wittingly or otherwise, Connery has grown into a caricature of himself and with his distinctive, ridiculous voice and accent he simply throws the whole proceedings into pantomime. It’s a long time since Connery made a good movie and in LXG he is excruciating from start to finish. Coupled with Stuart Townsend’s pompous Dorian Gray and Tony Curran’s irritating cockney Invisible Man, LXG quickly descends into one irritation after another. It’s not just the people either. The film features an utterly absurd version of Nemo’s submarine (The Nautilus) that looks rather like a floating sword. Dimensionally, the craft is unbelievably enormous, but we are somehow expected to believe that it can sail undetected up the River Thames and into the canals of Venice. Whatever!
To be fair, there were quite a few things about this film that I liked. The Victorian setting is rather atmospheric and it is quite unusual to see an action/fantasy film set entirely in this era. (It is, perhaps, the Victorian setting that makes The Nautilus seem so utterly out of place.) The special effects in the film are very effective. Scenes involving the Invisible Man work are very convincing and the transformation from Dr Jekyll to Mr Hyde is terrifyingly realistic. There are some fairly good action scenes and some nice comical touches that do give the film a much-needed lift. The film has a fairly mature feel to it as well. Although rated 12, the action is quite hard-hitting and the scenes involving Mr Hyde (and later, a mutated hybrid version of the character) may well upset smaller people.
Nonetheless, any praise I have for the film is considerably overshadowed by the criticism. LXG is such a disappointing film and suffers from what appear to be some really bad production ideas. A sequel seems highly unlikely, but if one were ever to be made, it would need a much better story line, a rather different cast and a good injection of credibility and plausibility. It certainly didn’t work for me.
Not recommended
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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
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
I got dragged to see this against my will, and it was nearly as bad as I expected.
Mickie26 01.05.2004 16:50
I really enjoyed your review and am giving it an exceptional because it shows true writing style. My husband really wanted to see this before hearing your review I, on the otherhand had strong doubts about it which you confirmed. Thanks for your review now I don't have to watch this film because I didn't want to anyway it looked too boring.
Paul32 01.05.2004 00:34
It was quite hard to rate your review as I really enjoyed this film and you so obviously didn't, maybe I'll make time in the future to say why I disagree, but as for you review -once again very comprehensive, well researched and thought out, excellent.
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...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
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Mar 18th, 2004
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