I've never read Alan Moore's "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" comic book series, but it seems that familiarity with it is not necessarily a requirement for watching this film, as I'm told that it differs greatly from the graphic novel. This movie was hammered pretty mercilessly by critics and audiences when it was released in 2003, but I found it to be a rather offbeat, mostly fun action/adventure romp.
The film takes place in an alternate-reality Europe of 1899, and features a number of characters from 19th/early 20th century adventure stories banding together to battle a mysterious supervillain called 'The Fantom' (he's sort of a steampunk Darth Vader) who plans to ignite a world war using previously-unseen technology that he's developed in his top-secret lair. Sean Connery (in his final live-action film role to date) toplines as H. Rider Haggard's Allan Quatermain, who is called out of retirement in Africa by Her Majesty's Government to join the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - a collection of heroes with "singular abilities" who are gathered together whenever the world's in peril - and neutralize the threat. The other League members include Captain Nemo, Mina Harker (from Bram Stoker's "Dracula"), "an" Invisible Man (not THE Invisible Man of H.G. Wells fame, mind you -- apparently due to copyright concerns, this guy's a thief who stole the invisibility formula from Wells' character), the eternally youthful Dorian Grey, the tortured Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, and a grown up Tom Sawyer (!) who's now a "special agent" for the U.S. Government. This motley crew boards Nemo's trusty submarine, the Nautilus, and travels across the world to foil The Fantom's evil plot.
The main thing that the film has going for it (aside from the always-welcome Connery) is its lush, atmospheric look. Obviously no expense was spared in terms of costumes and set design, and the special effects (though heavily reliant on CGI) are done well enough. As the League pursues the Fantom and battles his henchmen in various world capitols, there's certainly enough action that the viewer won't get bored. I was particularly impressed with certain key scenes involving Mr. Hyde and the Invisible Man, and the rock'em sock'em final battle at The Fantom's hidden weapons factory deep in the mountains of Asia will satisfy action junkies who've been waiting for lotsa stuff to blow up. Connery proves he's still the world's most bad-ass senior citizen as the two-fisted Quatermain, and Shane West supplies fine supporting work as Tom Sawyer.
In the end, it's probably a good thing that I never read the "League" graphic novel because then I probably would've spent the entire run time picking apart the differences from the source material. Alan Moore, of course, has disavowed the film version (as he does every time Hollywood adapts one of his works) and Connery himself has said he "didn't understand" the film, but hey, as far as escapist, Saturday afternoon popcorn movies go, you could certainly do worse than "The League." Fans of other underrated, period-piece adventure films like "The Phantom," "The Shadow" and "The Rocketeer" should have a blast with it, and perhaps viewers may become curious about the featured characters and head to their local library to discover some classic literature. This is the kind of movie that's got "cult film" written all over it and hopefully more people will discover it as the years go by.
The film takes place in an alternate-reality Europe of 1899, and features a number of characters from 19th/early 20th century adventure stories banding together to battle a mysterious supervillain called 'The Fantom' (he's sort of a steampunk Darth Vader) who plans to ignite a world war using previously-unseen technology that he's developed in his top-secret lair. Sean Connery (in his final live-action film role to date) toplines as H. Rider Haggard's Allan Quatermain, who is called out of retirement in Africa by Her Majesty's Government to join the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - a collection of heroes with "singular abilities" who are gathered together whenever the world's in peril - and neutralize the threat. The other League members include Captain Nemo, Mina Harker (from Bram Stoker's "Dracula"), "an" Invisible Man (not THE Invisible Man of H.G. Wells fame, mind you -- apparently due to copyright concerns, this guy's a thief who stole the invisibility formula from Wells' character), the eternally youthful Dorian Grey, the tortured Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, and a grown up Tom Sawyer (!) who's now a "special agent" for the U.S. Government. This motley crew boards Nemo's trusty submarine, the Nautilus, and travels across the world to foil The Fantom's evil plot.
The main thing that the film has going for it (aside from the always-welcome Connery) is its lush, atmospheric look. Obviously no expense was spared in terms of costumes and set design, and the special effects (though heavily reliant on CGI) are done well enough. As the League pursues the Fantom and battles his henchmen in various world capitols, there's certainly enough action that the viewer won't get bored. I was particularly impressed with certain key scenes involving Mr. Hyde and the Invisible Man, and the rock'em sock'em final battle at The Fantom's hidden weapons factory deep in the mountains of Asia will satisfy action junkies who've been waiting for lotsa stuff to blow up. Connery proves he's still the world's most bad-ass senior citizen as the two-fisted Quatermain, and Shane West supplies fine supporting work as Tom Sawyer.
In the end, it's probably a good thing that I never read the "League" graphic novel because then I probably would've spent the entire run time picking apart the differences from the source material. Alan Moore, of course, has disavowed the film version (as he does every time Hollywood adapts one of his works) and Connery himself has said he "didn't understand" the film, but hey, as far as escapist, Saturday afternoon popcorn movies go, you could certainly do worse than "The League." Fans of other underrated, period-piece adventure films like "The Phantom," "The Shadow" and "The Rocketeer" should have a blast with it, and perhaps viewers may become curious about the featured characters and head to their local library to discover some classic literature. This is the kind of movie that's got "cult film" written all over it and hopefully more people will discover it as the years go by.