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The onslaught of comic book adaptations continues with the release of ?The League of Extraordinary Gentleman.? Based on the acclaimed, but little-know graphic novel of the same name, the film follows the exploits of a unique group of individuals lead by Allan Quatermain (Sean Connery). Urged out of retirement to serve Queen and country, Quatermain is paired with Dr. Jekyll (Jason Flemyng), vampire Mina Harker (Peta Wilson), Captain Nemo (Naseeruddin Shah), an Invisible Man (Tony Curran), Dorian Gray (Stuart Townsend), and now special agent Tom Sawyer (Shane West). This league of most extraordinary people has been called upon to stop The Phantom, an entrepreneurial lunatic set on engulfing the world in war while basking in the financial glory of being the world?s most powerful war profiteer.

The script is the film?s biggest downfall. This horrendous piece of writing by James Dales Robinson never should have seen the light of day and reeks of being rushed. Dialogue and actions contradict each other with the best example being Quatermain?s reasons for leaving the adventurer behind him ? too many friends and loved ones lost ? immediate followed by a completely unemotional (but action-packed) reaction to yet another friend?s demise. The attempts at humor fall miserably flat, although Connery does give it the old college try.

Technically, the film is uninteresting. The effects are a complete mishmash that range from the impressive to the lazy that reek of too little time and not enough money. Too much emphasis is placed on the larger effects (such as Jekyll?s transformation into Hyde and Nemo Nautilus) and the smaller effects are left to chance (with Curran?s magically appearing, disappearing white makeup being the most glaring example).

While not overly impressive, the acting is enjoyable enough with the exception of Townsend?s utterly annoying turn as Dorian Gray. Having read the book his character is based on I find I am much more critical of his performance than most might for this reason. Most notable are Connery ? who is fine, as always, and does the best he can with the garbage he is given to read ? and Wilson, who plays her role well, adding an appropriate air of mystery to Mina, even with the knowledge of her being such a well-known character. When these two actors, however, cannot save your script you know you are in trouble.

All that said there are some pleasant aspects to the film. While some of his choices with camera movement leave a lot to be desired, director Stephen Norrington shows himself to be adept at action pacing. The action scenes are usually enjoyable and some are quite thrilling, but in a movie that aspires to be more than just an action film that is simply not enough.

I almost found myself enjoying ?LXG? in spite of myself. There is always something enjoyable about seeing Connery play the action hero (he really is a good fit for the aging Quatermain) and most of the action scenes are well staged. However, I did say almost. There is simply too much wrong with the film to ignore. Ultimately, the movie is a premise deserving a better script and ?The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,? the graphic novel, is a project deserving a much better movie.

** ? / **** (The extra half-star is for the action scenes and Connery)

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A (15.9%)
13 votes

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17 votes

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Review By mpost2 [ C ] (1 Users Found This Well Written, 0 Did Not)

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Review By wet24 [ F ] (0 Users Found This Well Written, 2 Did Not)

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