The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

[Brian G Turner]

Saw a poster for a film: "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" - which has Sean Connery as the lead.

Sounds a very oddball picture - like a strange collection of "super-heroes", to some degree. Anyone heard of it - or seen it already in the States?

 

[Gnome]

Saw it.....If you turn your mind off, it's sort of fun.

It's been almost universally panned here in the states, and I must admit it's pretty shaky in the plot dept.
BUT, anytime you have Alan Quartermain, Mina Harker, Dorian Grey, Tom Sawyer, Jeckel & Hyde, Capt. Nemo, and the Invisible Man banding together to defeat a diabolical enemy, you are going to have a somewhat good time.

I found it silly, and very escapist. Totally forgetable, but kind of endearing.

Definately subjective.....my wife hated it!

 

[Brian G Turner]

Yes...it sounds distinctly odd! But hopefully that means it may provide a refreshing change in terms of big movie releases.

Btw - Who is Sean Connery playing??

 

[Gnome]

Sean plays Alan Quartermain (King Solomon's Mines for the uninitiated). The rest of the cast is relatively unknown to me. Although, Richard Roxburg (Moulin Rouge) plays a role that turns out to be a surprise - so I won't give it away.

 

[Foxbat]

This film sounds daft enough to tempt me into giving it a look

What accent does Sean use in this one?
Is it his English/Scottish or American/Scottish or (God forbid) his Irish/Scottish?

If you're reading this....sorry Sean. I just couldn't resist.

 

[Gnome]

This film sounds daft enough to tempt me into giving it a look

What accent does Sean use in this one?
Is it his English/Scottish or American/Scottish or (God forbid) his Irish/Scottish?

If you're reading this....sorry Sean. I just couldn't resist.

He uses his English/Scottish. And yes, his Irish/Scottish is uninteligable....might as well be eating while he talks.

 

[Foxbat]

He uses his English/Scottish. And yes, his Irish/Scottish is uninteligable....might as well be eating while he talks.

LOL!

 

[Twelve]

Hey, I just liked seeing Sean Connery getting into fist fights.

Oh, and the female vampire in the movie was VERY nice.

Other than that, not much of a film.

12

 

[dwndrgn]

I'd like to see this one, even though I know it isn't up to what I would want it to be. I really liked the concept.

 

[milamber]

I've heard nothing but bad reviews. "A poor alternative to X-Men" was one of the quotes.

 

[Twelve]

Yeah, but...I mean, TOM SAWYER was in it!!

12

 

[jerchar]

I was so impatient to see this movie; but let's face it if you've seen the previews, you've seen the movie. Best character in this film was definitely the woman.

 

[Twelve]

Best character in this film was definitely the woman.

Amen.

 

[ray gower]

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Take the film Seven Samurai (or The Magnificent Seven, if you don't mind plagerisim) manning the roles with famous fictional Victorian heroes and anti-heroes:-
Allan Quartermain- adventurer (H Rider Haggard)
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hide- Scientist and Hulk's daddy (Robert Stevenson)
Captain Nemo- (Jules Verne)
Invisible Man- (HG Wells)
Mrs Harker- Wife of Jonathan Harker, Van Helsing's assistant in Bram Stoker's original Dracula.
Dorian Grey- Oscar Wilde's narcissistic immortal
Add a famous comic writer, Alan Moore, to draw a comic board.
Throw in a plot from Doc Savage.
Mix well, adding in large pinches of reference to every other famous writer one can think of:- Head of the British Secret Service is 'M' opposite Sean Connery's Quartermain, who later becomes Moriarty, copies of The Strand and Action for Boys on the table, and Nemo's first-mate is Ishmael (from Moby Dick) and the Hunchback of Notre Dam (Hyde swinging around the roof tops of Paris) and the obligatory American so US audiences will watch it.

And we have the latest reciepe in the continuing saga of comics reinventing themselves by becoming films.

And this one I really enjoyed!

Lots of action (from the Mk1 tank breaking into the Bank of England to the destruction of the gothic mansion), a touch of intrigue (if blown a little soon), fair amount of subtle comedy and a good opportunity to just turn off the brain and enjoy a good old fashioned adventure story of the old Rank mould.

Some things were over the top, Nemo's submarine towering over the London Docks being the main one, they are by and large minor niggles.

 

[Status]

Ok, this wasn't quite what I was expecting but wasn't bad at all. Actually rather enjoyed it myself.

the obligatory American so US audiences will watch it

It had nothing to do with the reason I watched it, still trying to figure out what part he was playing anyway, unless it was so they could have an idiot who would try anything . Actually my favorite charator was and still is Sean Connery (always liked his acting).

The storyline may not be new but was relaxing with the comedy that was laced into it. Also enjoyed the action part of it, just enough to make it intresting but not overcrowed with acrobatics. And I agree the mystrey was very good but found out a little too soon for my liking.

I think I could safely say I'd rate it a 8 out of 10 on the enjoyment scale. Good thing I'm not really a rank judge.

 

[ray gower]

It looks very much like a role Connery took for fun, as did most of the cast and it shows in the way that they verge on overdoing things as they got into the spirit of the thing. Think that helped lighten things up considerably.

 

[Annette]

I must admit this film only appealed to me because of Sean Connery being in it. LOL

Wasn't bad but wasn't as good as I expected (perhaps my expectations were too high). Advertisements of it looked good but didn't come up too scratch.

One question tho why didn't the 'vampires' turn to dust in the sunlight or were they similar to Blade as in 'daywalkers'? Or did I miss that bit?

annette

 

[ray gower]

Think we hit the difference between a Boys Own reader and the girls Bunty comics.

I used to thrive on the tongue in cheek all hero action stories, Dick Barton, Biggles et al. And the film was fun and made me quite nostalgic.

The only vampire was Mrs Harker and if I remember my Hammer films right, there were invariably complications with her conversion so she never became a fully fledged vampire- Just the teeth and a liking for black.

 

[FeedMeTV]

I watched this again the other night, I personally found it quite an average film with dodgy writing in parts. But it's easy to watch and the general idea is lovely mixing all the characters together. I also think that the characterisation is good considering the film has to pay attention to a lot of main characters.

It has a bit of a sequal-to-follow ending although I doubt this would be persued.

I like Stuart Townsend but now whenever I see him I think "ah, that's the man that would have been Aragorn." Poor bloke.

 

[immortalem]

I think this movie had a great concept and the acting wasn't too bad. But I think the writing was off a bit because the film lacked a little something. It sort of fell flat. The special effects were not too bad though.