Reviewed By: Le Apprenti
This is in reference to being in a movie that boasts impressive trailers but offers little to no advanced screenings or sneak previews because it really is not that good. He has been there in 1998 with The Avengers, and goes back there with The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (LXG for short). Loosely based on the Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's comic book of the same name, this flick is what summer movies are all about - a banquet of loud, high action without the need to stress one's mind in plot depth. LXG also serves one other purpose: an ice-breaker to reintroduce the characters you remembered in films, and the books (if you have read any) that inspired them. The reason for this is that there will probably be a sequel
Renowned hunter Allan Quatermain (Connery) is summoned by the British Empire to organize a group comprising of "singular individuals" to oppose an evil that could threaten the world. This group comprises of himself as leader, Captain Nemo (Naseeruddin Shah), Rodney "an Invisible Man" Skinner (Tony Curran), vampire Mina Harker, immortal Dorian Gray (Stuart Townsend), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Jason Flemyng in both roles), and former American teen anti-hero turned secret agent Tom Sawyer (Shane West). Their adversary is a disfigured phenom called the Fantom, who intends to turn Germany and Great Britain against each other in a global war so that he can make lots of money in the weapons sales. In this movie, it is not important whether or not both countries will war against each other as long its provides a backdrop for the League members to meet and for the audience to get to know them.
The part of Allan Quatermain that is frequently highlighted is the loss of his son, which sets him up for a father-figure relationship with Tom Sawyer. Both men bond easily with each other in their passion for adventure and their marksmanship. Connery's Quatermain is robust and steely, and has no problem taking down a group of gangsters with his fists. Sawyer is nicely presented in deep Southern spirit with the drawl to match, which West delivers in distinctive late 19th century American flavor.
If your only knowledge of Captain Nemo comes from 20,000 Leagues under the Sea (book or movie), be prepared to be shocked when he appears in a turban, a sword, all decked in Sikh garb, and he is not white. Then again, with the previews spotting on TV and movie theaters, it should not come as a shock to anyone. Nemo is apparantly faithful in costume only, but not in personality (do the scriptwriter bother to give him one?). He is not the romantic yet devious undersea mariner that wowed and frightened seafarers at the same time. Very little of the charm that Jules Verne gave him ever made it to the screen. But his martial arts movements and swordplay, and technological providence compensate for the lack thereofs. Nemo's great submersible the Nautilus, an extremely streamline submarine, looks visually stunning but not fearsome.
Now how did Mina Harker become a vampire? I have no idea, despite being the author of the film's Movie Companion Guide. In Bram Stoker's novel, she almost turned into a vampire but did not because Dracula's death broke the transformation. But that is not the issue. The issue is that every film adaptation of Dracula stated the same thing regarding Mina. There would have been no problem with her being a vampire had the movie explained why or how it happened, instead of blatantly contradicting every screen version of Dracula just to give her a 'killing' edge. Speaking of which, aren't vampires supposed to be powerless during daylight (if they are not burned to dust)? Mina appears as powerful in the day as she is in the night.
Unlike the savage green goliath Hulk that he inspires, Mr. Hyde is not CGI (the giant beast he fought, however, is). His transformations to and from Jekyll is shown in a sequence of jump cuts. Each cut shows Flemyng in a different set of body suit and prosthetics. It would have been perfect had Hyde's body came with his personality, but such is not the case. Instead of the dual good-evil persona, Hyde possesses Jekyll's personality, without any tinge of the evil side that Hyde supposedly represents. This makes Hyde less of a danger than he should be, more man than monster.
Next is "an Invisible Man". A pretty fine chap, even though he is not the H.G. Wells character. The visual effects used in portraying him are sufficiently accurate. One bad stab at his character is that throughout the entire movie he never stole anything despite being the "gentleman thief". The League's boss M (Richard Roxburgh) is revealed to be Sherlock Holmes' arch-enemy James Moriarty, not that it is of any interest. All of the character development goes to M and whoever he masquerades as; by the time Moriarty is revealed, nothing new is brought to the plate other than being faithful to the comic book. Character-wise, he is still M, not Moriarity.
Probably the most intriguing character is Dorian Gray, played with homoerotic grace by Townsend. Dorian has been an immortal for decades, which means his portrait has aged into a wizened over-expired old man. He and Mina has had a previous love relationship, the roots which is not clearly explained. The intrigue is his ties with his portrait, which takes on a different twist from the novel. Only this time, he dare not look at it. He has a richer role in the movie than most of the characters: a protagonist/antagonist relationship with the League.
Unlike the comic book, the plot in LXG leaves much to be desired. It is small in idea and its story finishes after the League is formed, which occurs 20 minutes into the movie. Everything else is a series of action sequences, all of which are terrific but none expands the plot in any way. League members are written in situations purely to display their extraordinary abilities - Sawyer driving a 'futuristic' automobile is one of the few high points.
The dialogue is fresh out of a stereotypical 'fanboy' comic book. Full of camp and cartoonish style, but little humanity. Its tone at times sounds like an adult reading a story to a child. Some of the plotholes are horribly evident, such as the Nautilus docking along the Venice canals even though it would be impossibly narrow for the vessel - captured in its glorious immensity in all of its scenes - to do so.
LXG the comic book is extraordinary for several reasons. One, it plays up to the conflicting personalities and abilities of the League members to emphasize the uncertainty of their relationships with each other. Two, it portrays the characters as accurately as they were in their respective literature sources with only the situations being different. Three, being of an extraordinary tale of an ensemble of fictional characters, it therefore follows that the story should contain references to characters, places and objects from various classical literature to reinforce the idea.
LXG the movie, though has some of the first two (in decreasing quantity), has none of the third save for the only one mention of Phileas Fogg's 80-day travel around the world. It has decent special effects, action sequences and production value to make it enjoyable. But without a substantial plot, it is far from extraordinary. Hopefully, the sequel will make every effort to improve on plot if this series intends to be a serious movie franchise for a long time.
Special Thanks To: Movie Vault
