Review of The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse (2005) by Alexander A — 01 Aug 2009

League of Gentlemen always tried to push boundaries and innovate within their own means. Season 1 introduced the crude, dark mix of horror and comedy. Season 2 upped the narrative and gave it an even stronger unity.

The Christmas Special was a homage to British horror and was maybe the pinnacle of their formula. Season 3 experimented with the conventional form of previous seasons, with mixed result. Finally, there's The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse, wherein the makers of the show try to give their characters a dignified death, characters they obviously care about, but feel have been pushed as far as they can go in terms of character development and depth.

At one point it is suggested that the characters are just puns which are being repeated endlessly. This is true, but it applies to most comedy shows in this genre (especially the abhorrent Little Britain).

It is also emphasized when "The Kings Evil" is introduced. This story seems refreshing and is hilarious, but mainly because we are given a new set of characters. After 3 seasons, these characters would also feel like puns.

Anyway, the movie tries a bit too hard to be smart and fails. Still, there are some very funny moments.