Review of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) by Dann M — 18 Jun 2015

"I'm waiting to be impressed!" Though it doesn't quite work, The League of Extraordinary Gentleman is an exciting tale of high adventure. Based on the Alan Moore/Kevin O'Neill comic, at the turn of the twentieth century a super-villain known as the Fantom attempts to instigate a world war, and in order to stop him a team of gifted individuals, including Allan Quatermain, Captain Nemo, Dorian Gray, Mina Harker, and Dr.

Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, is assembled. Unfortunately most of the characters have been heavily altered and re-written in order to be action-heroes (which does a disservice to the source material). Also, the anachronistic tech is taken way out of hand; with Nemo having a supercharged race car, missile launchers, and a ridiculously large submarine.

And the special effects are especially poor; particularly the CGI, which looks incredibly fake. Still, the action sequences are fun and bring a lot of energy to the film. Creative and visionary, The League of Extraordinary Gentleman has a fascinating concept, but it falls apart in execution.