Cast: Sean Connery, Naseeruddin Shah, Peta Wilson, Tony Curran, Stuart Townsend, Shane West, Jason Flemyng, Richard Roxburgh
Director: Stephen Norrington
Producers: Trevor Albert, Don Murphy
Screenplay: James Dale Robinson, based on the comic books by Alan Moore & Kevin O'Neill
Cinematography: Dan Laustsen
Music: Trevor Jones
U.S. Distributor: 20th Century Fox
The selling point of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen - the names on the roster of that impressive-sounding institution - turns out to be little more than a gimmick. They are a varied and interesting lot, a veritable who's who of 19th century superheroes: legendary adventurer Allan Quartermain (Sean Connery); sea-farer Captain Nemo (Naseeruddin Shah); twice-bitten Mina Harker (Peta Wilson); hide-and-seek champion Rodney Skinner (Tony Curran), also known as the Invisible Man; the ageless wonder, Dorian Gray (Stuart Townsend), who has a picture missing from his wall; a grown-up Tom Sawyer (Shane West); and the mighty morphin' Hulk of his day, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Jason Flemyng). But, as clever as the conceit may be, it can't hide a mundane storyline and a generic villain. The experience of watching this movie is a marginal and moderately disappointing one.
The plot is plain vanilla and unspectacular. It's a low-tech version of the James Bond formula, with the original 007 thrown in for good measure. In a comic book, which is where The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen originated, this story might work, but, in a movie, it feels forced and overplotted. It's 1899 and the world is a different place. Tensions between Germany and England are growing and a mysterious megalomaniac called the Phantom starts doing things to provoke a war, believing he can cash in on the conflict by selling weapons of mass destruction. Desperate to prevent a disaster, an agent of the British government, who goes only by the moniker of "M" (Richard Roxburgh), calls on Bond - er, make that Quartermain - to lead the newly-formed "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." Their assignment: track down the Phantom, prevent him from sabotaging a secret peace summit in Venice, and bring him to justice.
In an action-packed summer, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen gets outclassed at nearly every turn. This is '80s style action - lots of fist-fights and low-thrill stuff. It doesn't come close to matching the special effects-saturated roller coasters that the average recent action/adventure excursions take us on. Speaking of the effects, "special" doesn't really apply here. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen looks low-budget, as if all of the money was spent hiring Connery. The most embarrassing example of an effects miscalculation is Jason Flemyng's Mr. Hyde, which looks like a low-rent Hulk without the green skin. Watching this awkward and ill-conceived creation is enough to cause even the most serious viewer to fall victim to uncontrollable fits of laughter. After seeing Mr. Hyde, no one will ever again consider calling the Hulk's appearance "unconvincing."
Of course, it's possible for an adventure thriller to thrive with a minimum of cutting-edge action sequences if the plot is strong enough to keep viewers involved. Unfortunately, that isn't the case here. And, not only is the storyline weak, but the characters are poorly developed. Aside from Quartermain, who is given a measure of humanity through his mourning the loss of a son, the members of the League are vaguely fleshed-out at best. We learn little things about them along the way, but none of them becomes real enough that we develop a bond with them. All except Bond - er, Quartermain - that is.
Connery is his usual charismatic self, forcing everyone else to exist in his shadow (although the sight of a 72-year old man engaging in so many fights is a little absurd). For the most part, the supporting performers do not flourish. The possible exception is Peta Wilson (the lead from the TV series "La Femme Nikita"), whose Mina Harker occasionally grabs our attention, usually when her hair's a mess and there's blood dripping from her mouth. It's not that the actors don't have anything to do - the script very carefully makes sure that each of them has a task to finish or an opponent to defeat - but they do not accomplish things memorably. The characters become pawns traveling through a dreary, gothic atmosphere.
For a major summer release, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen has been seriously undermarketed. In fact, the film has received more exposure via reports of a rift between Connery and director Stephen Norrington than as a result of commercials and trailers. There isn't much enthusiasm for the film out there, and the lukewarm word-of-mouth won't change that. In a summer of high-octane action and testosterone-boosted thrills, this movie is out of its league.
© 2003 James Berardinelli