The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen [M]

As a masked villain known only as The Fantom threatens to spark a world war, a group of people with extraordinary talents known as the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen forms to stop his plan from succeeding. Consisting of a hunter, a scientist, a vampire, an invisible man, and a beast, the League, though fighting their own personal demons, as well as each other, join forces to save the world. 

Loosely based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore, I don’t know why I like this film, I just really do. I find it to be good brain candy because it’s filled with action, comedy, and the slightest bit of romance. But I think what I love best about it is the combination of all these wonderful heroes of 19^th century literature. 

As a masked villain known only as The Fantom threatens to spark a world war whilst simultaneously profit from the arms race, a group of people with extraordinary talents known as the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen forms to stop his plan from succeeding. Consisting of a hunter, a scientist, a vampire, an invisible man, and an immortal, the League though fighting with their own personal demons, as well as each other, joins forces to save the world. 

As I mentioned before, what I love most about this movie is the combination of these giants of 19^th century literature. The League consists of Allan Quatermain from Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines, Captain Nemo from Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the invisible man from Wells’ The Invisible Man, Mina Harker from Stoker’s Dracula, Tom Sawyer from Twain’s Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde from Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Dorian Gray from Wilde’s The Portrait of Dorian Gray. A few more familiar names creep into the mix including Melville’s “call me Ishmael” and James Moriarty (I don’t know what work he’s from, I only know him from the recent Sherlock Holmes movies). 

Essentially, aside from that great combination of characters, the film doesn’t really have all that much going for it. The script was off the mark, as were the some of the sets and special effects, I felt. There were no outstanding performances to speak of, merely a gaggle of names and familiar, good-looking faces. But for some reason, I still find this film really entertaining. 

Starring Sean Connery, Shane West, Naseeruddin Shah, Peta Wilson, Tony Curran, Stewart Townsend, Jason Flemying, and Richard Roxburgh, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a mindless, but fun movie filled with action, adventure, a great combination of memorable characters, drama, comedy, and even romance. It’s not a major cinematic achievement by any means, but it’s still a film that I thoroughly enjoy and am proud to have in my collection.