September 18, 2003
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
[2 - OK]
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the much maligned The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003). Of course my positive reaction can probably be directly attributed to the low expectations I had going into the theater after having heard so many disparaging remarks about this movie. Being a fan of Sean Connery probably did not harm either. I can see why the film earned low ratings and poor reviews, it is poorly timed, badly written and most of the time feels rather pointless. That being said it is also a great deal of fun, especially for someone with a love for the odd, the arcane, and the Victorian.
The feature that the producers probably counted on the most is also the most distracting in this movie: the special effects. I have never before in my life seen so many FX houses credited for a movie (eighteen different companies according to the IMDB) and frankly it shows. Between invisible characters, CG monsters and lots and lots of explosions the actual movie is hard to make out under the heavy layer of effects shots. It was not very long into the movie before I started wishing that the producers had saved some of their big-bang budget and instead invested in writing that we could actually care for. With no less than six producers listed in the credits, perhaps this is a hint as to the original failings for the layout.
What the movie does have going for it are a plethora of amusing references to the original Victorian stories on which it is based. I guess that for this we have comic book creators Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill (who also wrote the story upon which the great B sci-fi flick Hardware (1990) is based). Having grown up with stories of Professor Quatermain, Dr Jekyll, Van Helsing (who's wife Mina Harker is a member of the league) and Captain Nemo I was rather delighted to see the old time heroes resuscitated for another adventure. I guess this is also one of the sources of the movie's downfall. I believe I was only one of three people in the crowded theater to react to the revelation that (skip the next line if you have not seen the movie and want to be surprised) the evil mastermind in the movie is none other than Professor Moriarty. It was at that moment that I realized most of the old country jokes were lost on the American audience.
Nowhere was the anachronistic sense of the film better felt than in the little one liners occasionally offered by the principals. Most of the quips and jokes were out of place in the movie's setting, such as when Tom Sawyer careens out in Nemo's hot-rod (cars had not yet been invented) and calls out 'Care for a spin?' Then there were the occasional gems that made a turn and showed European sensitivity in the midst of the action. Some lines were beautiful enough to be worth remembering such as:
Mina Harker: You're sweet, and you're young; neither are traits that I hold in high regard.Allan Quatermain: Oh, I saw...Very American. Fire enough bullets and hope they hit the target!
Nigel: Perhaps I should just...toddle off, should I, Allan?
Allan Quatermain: Yes, Nigel, you toddle off.
Nigel: Toddling...
[Dorian and Mina, both immortals, are fighting]
Dorian Gray: We'll be at this all day.
For those of you who left the theater wondering exactly who all these people were, I offer this cheat sheet:
Allan Quatermain from H. Rider Haggard's "King Solomon's Mines" (1885)
Mina Harker from Bram Stoker's "Dracula" (1897)
Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde from Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1886)
Rodney Skinner replacing Hawley Griffin from H.G. Wells "The Invisible Man" (1897) (due to rights issues)
Captain Nemo from Jules Verne's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1870)
Dorian Gray from Oscar Wilde's "The Picture Of Dorian Gray" (1891)
Tom Sawyer from Mark Twain's "The Adventures Of Tom Sawyer" (1876)
Professor James Moriarty from Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Final Problem" (1893)
As a lover of "the odd, the arcane and the Victorian" I liked this film a lot, though I certainly agree it wasn't bursting with quality. But this is exactly my type of thing - literary figures somehow coexisting in the same universe, working together (or against each other) and lots of bad guys, explosions, and chase scenes thrown in for good measure, all in a supposedly genteel time period. Very weird, very different, and (for me, anyway) entertaining. Sean Connery was never my cup of tea, but since seeing LXG I've change my mind ... Stuart Townsend was perfectly cast as the mysterious, maddeningly aloof Dorian Gray, and I loved Shane West as Tom Sawyer, most particularly when he's gunning the car through the streets of Venice ... I don't know. It doesn't surprise me that a lot of people hated this movie. But it's the kind of fluke that really appeals to me.
Posted by: heathcliffe on September 20, 2003 11:48 AMI liked the movie, most of my friends didn't but I liked it alot. It was............interesting. I liked the vampire lady, Mina was it?
In my opinion lxg is one the must see movies of the year and I rate it higher than both x-men movies as well as the hulk and daredevil. I thought the movie was great fun and enjoyable to watch. I think that most people that dislike the movie will be people who can't forget the real world for a moment and enjoy the world of fantasy. The writing may not have been spectacular but keep in mind that your dealing with highly popular literature characters and more than likely there was difficulty in writing them in such a way that they were true to the books .
Posted by: ricardo on October 6, 2003 08:50 PMHi,
I liked the movie but for me it was over when the car was destroyed in Venice...
I´m desperately searching for a scale model of that astounding Capatain Nemo´s Car!
Also some high resolution pictures of it could make me happy.
If anyone has an idea, please send me a short note and/or link!
Thanks a lot,
Heiko Triebener, Germany
It was amazing! Hope they bring out a second one! Mr Hyde and Rodeny Skinenr were the best! I can't beleive that everywhere you go, people rate it as bad and rubbish.
Posted by: Stuart on November 8, 2003 11:18 PMHi! I really loved the movie! My favourite characters were Mina Harker, Dr. Henry/Mr.Hyde and Rodney Skinner (especially Mina). I can't believe Dorian Gray was on The Fantom's side. My fav parts was when The league found out that Mina was a vampiress and when she and Dorian were fighting.
Would'nt it be fun to be a vampire.....
I thought the movie was most excellent. Dorian Grey was my favorite character. Who cares if he was evil? His personality was performed strongly by Stuart Townsend, which gave the character a better appearance in my opinion. But overall, some of the graphics could have been better, but it was still a movie I could watch over and over again.
Posted by: Victoria on January 6, 2004 02:26 PMWith all due respect to Ricardo up there, if you have to apologize for the script, there's no way LXG beats out X2... and I *like* LXG!
Posted by: heathcliffe on January 16, 2004 09:04 AMA trailer for Van Helsing has been released information is at:
Film Roar: Van Helsing Pictures and Trailer
I have also posted an image gallery of stills captured from the trailer at:
Geekroar.com Gallery :: Van Helsing Pictures
I loved the movie, Dorian Grey Ooooo he is so hot stuart townsend played the part very very well even if he is a bad guy as you said who cares, He could be my bad guy any day. Well that is all, all in all the movie was GREAT.
Posted by: Liliki on January 22, 2004 07:50 PMOkay, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was a very good movie. A little twisted and quite far fetched, but I liked that way that all of the different characters were brought together in one movie. Everytime you see a movie with a bad guy or a good guy there is only one of each, and in this movie there were two bad guys and six good guys. An interesting twist I thought. Myself and the few friends I have that have seen the movie all agree that this was a movie worth seeing, if you're into the whole idea of a twisted, dark fairytale, which is what I consider this to be. I do hope that they make a second. I think it would be interesting to see what they could do to bring these characters together again for another movie.
Posted by: Rayven on January 26, 2004 02:31 PMI have added eight more pictures from Van Helsing at: Film Roar: More Van Helsing Pictures and Geekroar.com Gallery :: Van Helsing Pictures.
Posted by: Leopoldo on February 3, 2004 08:33 AMTHIS WAS AN INCREADABLE MOVIE! All the roles were strongly played, including the role of allan quartermain and captain nemo. I cant see why so many people gave this movie a bad review. It was next to perfect, with amazing special effects. I would rate this movie up against Pirates Of The Carribean ANYDAY (not that it wasnt a good movie or anything)
Posted by: Gh0stXer0 on February 17, 2004 05:24 PMthis is the best movie
Posted by: lizzy on February 18, 2004 07:25 PMOH my god i love the league of extraordinary gentlemen and my favourite characters where mina,skinner and dorian grey(yum) i cant believe he was evil. and my favourite bit is when the guy says :what are you and dorian grey says: im complicated.wouldnt it be wicked to be a vampire
All Right, whoever said that Mina Harker was Van Helsing's wife, they were wrong. Jonathon Harker was her husband. This was an exciting and well organized movie. It's great how they put all of these amazing 19th century stories together.All right, here is a secret.... remember when Quartermain said "Africa will not let me die" well you know that he died in the end, right? WRONG
Posted by: Treyjordan Owen on February 27, 2004 09:31 AMHi, It's me again. Sorry I didn't really get to explain myself in my last comment. This was the best movie of the year{in my eyes} I can't believe people said it was the worst movie of the year. Also in my last note I said that Quartermain didn't die. Well that may be true. It could have been just awierd Indian guy doing a ritual to pay his respects. But I don't think so. Also the movie features a lot of 19th century guys. Mina Harker from Bram Stoker's Dracula, Tom Sawyer from Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Captain Nemo from Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Alan Quartermain H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines, Rodney S kinner who is Hawley Griffen of HG Well's The Invisible Man, Dorian Gray of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Recall in The Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that when Jekyll turns into Hyde he get's a little bigger each time, well you can see this in the movie.
Posted by: treyjordan owen on February 27, 2004 09:55 AMGreat film, my favrit characters were Dorian and Skinner. Can someone send in a picture of the Fantom.
Posted by: david on May 3, 2004 03:56 AMi love this movie, it was hot. i also just saw van helsing and mr.hyde looked a lot better in the l.o.e.g. i was hopeing that mina harker and that other harker dude (i think it was her husband or brother???) was going to be in it, but they weren't. that would have been cool if they made the l.o.e.g after van helsing, and could have had van helsing in it. oh good stuff.
Posted by: harry potter on May 9, 2004 05:07 AMDorian Grey is EVERYTHING... As a writer myself, I keep plotting five thousand -logic- ways to bring him back to life... And yes, it's possible. As possible as have your soul trapped on a picture.
Magnificent characters, by the way. I did read all the books whose characters are mentioned on the movie, and I find great how Townsend gave Dorian Grey the beauty and personality due to the original character.
Well, I LIKE the movie. I even acquired one. And just for the fun of it, imagine how many fan fics, screenplays and The Sims skins I didn't do based on the first. And yes, all of them with a way to bring Dorian back to life...
Giuliani
Posted by: Giuliani on May 9, 2004 03:06 PMI was really excited about this movie when I first heard about it. I mean, I love movies set in that Victorian era (plus, I also love Stuart Townsend)! It wasnt as good as I thought I would be, and I thought that the Mr. Hyde was overdone, especially in the end where there is that big fight between him and the other guy that drank the potion. I also love Sean Connery, and I think that everyone did a good job acting, I just wish the writing would have been better. Tom Sawyer was a little out of place, and his character(or at least the way Shane West portrayed him) was to 'modern'. I would have hoped there was a sequal, except my Stuart died, and I just dont see the point without him. I guess if they bring Sean back, I would go see it, I DO plan on buying it on DVD.
Posted by: Heather on May 20, 2004 06:51 PMI'm in love with Dr. Jekyll...he is the best!
LXG is a fantastic film
Posted by: Phoenix on May 22, 2004 05:47 PMi love this film!!! i have a soft spot for period films......i loved Dorian Gray (ahem) and Tom Sawyer...im not really a fan of Americans but my opinion of them has improved thanks to this film.....i loved the specail effects....it jsut everything so reall and almost made me feel like i was there...plenty of times i wanted to be there in certain scenes....i would have loved to Mina sum of the time.......
Posted by: Nimmo Gray on June 16, 2004 11:57 AMI know that there are few others who love Dr. Jekyll as I do... I LOVE his personality... sweet, determined, kind, sensitive... as for Hyde... Hyde's my teddy bear!! ^0^ lol
Posted by: Cathrine Jekyll on June 30, 2004 06:43 PMOne of the most frequent criticisms of the film among Alan Moore fans is that it departed from the original in too many ways, often for little apparent reason. However, it is understandable why each of these changes were made, both from the viewpoint of a general audience and also from the viewpoint of the producers.
While the original League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was a masterwork of sequential art, it was also very much in Moore's style - slowly paced, deliberate, amoral, and more than a little depressing. Moore's Mina Murray (Harker's maiden name, which she uses in the books) is human, and in some ways stronger for it, but not very dramatic. Nemo is colder and less trusting than in the film, but he also has a few colorful crewmen - Ishmael from Moby Dick and a dime-novel character named Broad-Arrow Jack - whom he relies upon. Quartermain starts the series as an opium and taduki besotted wreck whom no one trusts. Griffin is too bloodily psychotic to make a good film hero (and certainly his original introduction in the School for Wayward Girls could not have been used in a PG-13 film!). Hyde, while more articulate and even somewhat playful, is downright disturbing, especially in the second series.
As for the addition of Tom Sawyer, well, apparently it was something Moore had considered at one time but decided against; while it is an addition, it is not a great departure.
The differences in the plot also reflect the differences in the media. The entire Limehouse plotline, while appropriate for the Victorian setting, was too grossly (and intentionally) racist to work unless it is clearly parodic (which it is in the books). It also involves too many references and in-jokes. While an aerial martial-arts battle between two airships would have been quite impressive, it would have been even harder to film than the ending that was actually used. At the same time, the purpose of it all - a struggle for control over London's organized crime - lacks the scale needed to engage the audience, given the build-up and the world-shaking characters involved.
I did miss Campion Bond though, especially since without him, the whole joke about Moriarty being both a crimelord and the head of the British Secret Service is entirely lost. However, this just points out another part: that a lot of the jokes in the original were far too subtle to work on film, especially for a general audience. Even in the original, it takes a careful eye and a familiarity with many old novels to get even a small part of the references; on film, they would go by too fast to be noticed by all bu the more diligent fans.
While as a fan I find it unfortunate that such compromises would be necessary, I must say that a compromised LoEG is better than none at all, especially if draws in new fans.
Posted by: Schol-R-LEA on July 16, 2004 09:52 AMOh, I loved this film! Especially Dorian Gray *swoon*(love Stuart Townsend! His Lestat is soo sexy! No one can deny that his role in the Queen of the Damned pretty much ensured he was cast as Gray)
I also liked Mina Harker. I liked her being in the film because I am actually related to Jonathon Harker! Cool huh?
Well, anyway, wicked film, but to me it seemed to be over too soon. I also loved the fact that Townsend WAS evil-I have a serious THING about bad boys, they are sooo much sexier.
I am hoping they have a sequel, but only if Townsend comes back. And apparently he will, as when I was looking for information about a sequel, I read that Connery had "also revealed that the entire cast have been signed for "at least one potential sequel."" (http://www.thezreview.co.uk/comingsoon/l/loeg.htm)
Quartermain HAS to be brought back, I think that is the only logical way to make a sequel. But if there is a sequel, DORIAN HAS TO BE BROUGHT BACK TOO!
Okey, how sad do I sound?! Dont answer that! Lol
I loved it!!!
Posted by: Cindy on August 26, 2004 06:43 PMTownsend id a hottie!! espicelay in Queen of The Damned. BTW I am only 12
Posted by: Maggie on January 15, 2005 01:50 PMThis was a brilliant movie! And I most infortunately have to say that I agree with most of the reviwers for this. Stuart Townsend was brilliantly cast as Dorian Gray. I myself only just finished reading the original story by Oscar Wilde and immediately fell in love with the character. Despite the fact that Stuart does not look like the Dorian Gray that was described and created by Oscar Wilde, he did a marvellous job.
About the rest of the movie. I loved it. The twists in the plot were marvellous and although the special effects were perhaps a little bit overdone, it was still a superb movie. Indeed, I have now made a mental note to read all of the original books that the characters were based on or taken out of.
Once I have finished them, I plan to come back and comment all over again!
Until then,
Evalanis!
Never got the mind to get this show, until the option to see it ran out. Read the paperback novel version, and I'd say it warrants a look (that I most likely can't get). Does anyone have aforesaid pictures of Dorian Grey saying "I'm... complicated.", and that six-wheeled vehicle Captain Nemo designed? Hope the webmaster somehow posts them up; the link for the Mina picture is broken too. And, I'd love for some close-in pictures of Mathilda (the elephant gun) and Mathilda-in-action!
Posted by: slivers7 on June 10, 2005 09:34 AM
