Summary:
Allan Quatermain (Sean Connery) stars as the world’s greatest adventurer, who
assembles a legion of superheroes
the likes of which the world has never seen. Quatermain’s extraordinary League
is comprised of Captain Nemo, Dracula vampiress Mina Harker, an invisible man
Rodney Skinner, American secret service agent Sawyer, Dorian Gray, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde.
Outcasts in fact, with mysterious pasts and
gifts which have been both blessing and curse. In order to overcome a worldly
tyrant, they must learn to trust each
other and work as a team for the very hope of civilization. With little
preparation and no time to lose, they will be transported via Captain Nemo’s
extraordinary submarine, the Nautilus, to the frontline of defense: Venice,
Italy. There, a masked madman known as the Fantom plans to sabotage a conference
of world leaders by setting off a domino chain of explosions, sinking the entire
city. The threat is catastrophic, the risks are staggering. The League of
Extraordinary Gentlemen has 96 hours to save the world.
Review:
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen brings a movie packed with big budget
computer-graphics (CG), nostalgic characters from literary pasts, and an
Indiana Jones-like hero. Unfortunately the movie is over-done and ruins a
remarkable performance by the 73-year old Sean Connery. Although the movie
has a great premise, is entertaining, and flows well on the screen, there
seem to be some discernable flaws almost from the very beginning. For one,
most movies have fight scenes which play to the characters weaknesses rather
than there strengths (Superman and Kyptonite, Green Lantern and Yellow,
Daredevil and Blindness/too much noise), but this comic-book based movie
leads towards fight scenes catering to the heroes strengths. In short the
characters all practically invincible when they work together, but the only
challenge is getting to the scene of the crime or catching up with the
criminal mastermind.
Secondly, the characters don't face any villains with comparable talents.
It becomes rather evident early on that the characters abilities are over
the top and too much for this movie. Allan Quatermain, from H. Rider
Haggard's King Solomon's Mines, Captain Nemo's from Jules Verne's 20,000
Leagues Under the Sea, Tom Sawyer is a Mark Twain character grown up to
be a Secret Service agent, Mina Harker is the brainchild Bram Stroker, and
Dorian Gray is an Oscar Wilde creation. Any one of these characters would
have been enough to create a compelling story.
No doubt this movie was inspired by the X-men craze of combining many
different superhero's into one film. But in X-men there are comparable
enemies (Sabretooth, Magneto, Toad, etc). But, for what it's worth it wasn't
a terrible film and entertaining to a certain point. Sean Connery gives an
inspired performance and fans of his characters from Indiana Jones and the
Last Crusade and James Bond will enjoy this film.
See this movie if you're a fan of:
Sean Connery (Actor, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, James Bond)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Jules Verne novel)
Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain novel)
King Solomon's Mines (H. Rider Haggard novel)
|
© CinemaSavvy.com