Review of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) by Brian F — 08 Apr 2012

I like the concept of this movie, taking characters from classics of literature and having them come together to fight and save the world. Of course, the great villains of classic literature get together to take over the world. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is not going to be rated as the best ever, but I think it's entertaining.

Basically, the premise is, the world is about to go into war with one man creating all of the weapons to profit from this event, and our heroes are trying to stop them. They are Allan Quartermain, played by Sean Connery (James Bond movies), Captain Nemo, played by Indian actor as in the country India Naseeruddin Shah, Mina Harker, played by Peta Wilson (TV's Le Femme Nikita), Tom Sawyer, played by Shane West (TV's ER), Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, played by Jason Flemyng (From Hell), and The Invisible Man, played by Tony Curran (Pearl Harbor). The bad guys are The Phantom/M/Professor Moriarty, played by Richard Roxburgh (Van Helsing), and Dorian Gray, played by Stuart Townsend (Head in the Clouds).

This ensemble cast is very good with enjoyable performances by Stuart Townsend and Peta Wilson. Connery is Connery. With the exception of âThe Avengers,â? I canâ(TM)t remember a movie he did which I didnâ(TM)tlike. I also enjoyed Shane West who, in this movie, looks like a thin Jack Black.

I think the story is what hooked me, however. I like this concept of bringing in literary greats into an ensemble movie. The good guys basically chase the bad guys around the world and also try and conquer their own personal demons at the same time.

My dislikes were small. Special effects were not the best, and I would have liked a happier ending. Although, you knew it kind of had to end the way it did.

Overall, I like this small picture. Get past the special effects and enjoy the film, because if you can't, you are being to nit-picky and shouldn't watch any movies ever again!