The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Review

Film Title: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

Director: Stephen Norrington

Cast: Sean Connery, Richard Roxburgh, Shane West, Peta Wilson

Summary: In an alternate Victorian Age world, a group of famous contemporary fantasy, science fiction, and adventure characters team up on a secret mission.

Sup all the name’s Ari, and I’m here to remove your nostalgia goggles on old movies. For our first movie, we’re going to go back in time to 1899. Based on the comics by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill; League of Extraordinary Gentlemen follows characters from classic literature to stop the beginning of a world war. The characters in this movie come from works like Jules Verne, HG Wells, and Mark Twain in an Avengers-like team up.

Besides the plot, there should have been scenes removed for the shock value. Going into spoiler territory right now so if you haven't seen it, I recommend watching it first. With the reveals of Dorian and M being the villains, it should have been later on into the scene instead of where it was. In the scene, Captain Nemo's first mate tells them that Dorian is a spy before he dies. What I liked in that scene was how they showed Dorian killing him, but if they took out Dorian's dialogue, it would've spoken more volumes to the audience. In those five minutes, the audience has to so much information that it ends up being confusing. They should've had the last words be "captain" then he dies before the record shows up. Then before the bombs go off, show Dorian in the escape pod.

The characters themselves were fascinating. We had a thief that stole the potion to turn invisible from a mad scientist, the damsel in distress from Dracula turned vampire, a man afraid of his reflection (quite literally really). Then there’s the original hulk, a hunter, a pirate that fought off a giant squid, Sherlock Holmes' nemesis, and an American that tricked Huckleberry Fin into painting a fence for him. Oh and I forgot to mention, the Phantom of the opera.

Each of them played it in a certain way that I can't help but like, Peta's attempt to play Mina hasn't been redone in a while, and it would be cool to have a solo movie of her either being the vampire, or a sort of ghost in Transylvania. For Sean Connery, he's a good actor, and you can tell that the role fits him perfectly. If they didn't cast him, I'd have to say, Ben Kingsley, Ian McKellan, or Bill Nighy as possible substitutes. Though with Bill Nighy, it'd be interesting since Tony Curran, who plays Skinner, is Marcus in the Underworld trilogy and all they would need is Kate Beckinsale. Shane West is good as Tom Sawyer, though honestly, the only other movie I know of his is "A Walk to Remember" and they probably would have cast Leonardo DiCaprio if Connery wasn't involved.

To this day, my dream cast to play Captain Nemo and Dr. Jekyll in a show or documentary of the authors or another film have to go to Naseeruddin Shah and Jason Flemyng respectively. They played the characters in a way that not only hints at their past but also shows that they've grown while holding onto the demons. They're my favorite characters in the movie, and if they ever did a spinoff of just those two, it would have been so good.

How Naseeruddin played Nemo, obviously the Mysterious Island and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea had happened as well as other Jules Verne books including From the Earth to the Moon with the rockets. How Nemo is played, something or someone must have died to influence Nemo's attitude change. Even then, of course, this brings a theory of Captain Ahab's white whale was the Nautilus was the whole time and he was trying to find Nemo.

For Flemyng, yes the way he plays Jekyll Mark Ruffolo played Bruce Banner the same way; however, Flemyng's Jekyll has something that Bruce Banner doesn't. Jekyll did it on purpose, Banner didn't. I could keep talking about it, but I might do that in a different blog.

As for Stephen Norrington, the director of this movie. He is back at it again with the cheesy films! His "big" movie just happens to be Blade, which we'll do later on. The way he did it, it was so corny and so early 2000's that I love it. He knows he can't remake something like Blade, so he kills it, and it is honestly a movie I will watch when I'm on Starz.

He is more known for special effects, and how it's done is incredible. Of course, it's done by blue screen with the Nautilus, Skinner, and some pyrotechnics, but the rest is gorgeous. Hyde's make up is stunning, and his transformation is well put out with flashes and quick shots.

There's even the use of small RC cars, and it's so planned out that it honestly fits seamlessly into the shot.

I cannot deny, I forgot about this movie for some time since I don't watch cable or have the FX channel anymore. Once I saw it again, I remembered how much I loved it and I honestly still do despite how corny it is. I know the movie needs a fixer upper, but if done right, and if Alan Moore will let them redo it, the newer adaptation might be a better interpretation.

Overall this movie will give you laughs and make you feel back into the early 2000's era. For that, I'm giving it a B-.

Thanks so much for reading, next time we're going to go to Neverland. Till then keep those rosy goggles on!