The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen [UMD for PSP]
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Movie Reviews of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen [UMD for PSP]
Movie Review: Ahhh...Absolutely wonderful
Summary: 5 Stars
I agree with the reviewer who stated it took them back to their youth. I can totally relate. I absolutely loved this movie. All the great superheros played by an equally great cast of actors. It just doesn't get any better than this.Movie Review: Brings back childhood fantasies
Summary: 5 Stars
Although critics and some other people have taken great pleasure in ripping this movie, I actually enjoyed it very much. It was a fun adventure flick with some of my favorite literary characters. It was just dark enough to add dimension to them without losing the fun of the genre. How could I not enjoy it? No, I haven't read the comics...sorry, "graphic novels," so I didn't "have it ruined for me." But, please, people. Like they are actually going to put that kind of darkness and violence in a movie kids are going to want to see? Up against "Pirates?"
Also, I guess I am one of the last generation of Americans that has read any classic literature. I and my sibs got every one of the literary references and laughed each time. Sure, I had a few raised eyebrows (Skinner naked in the snow? Surprised he didn't get frostbite!) and eyerolls (Sawyer! Oh, please! An obvious character addition for young girls). Still, this is a "what if" story, so what is the big deal? Sean Connery was a great Quatermain...very much a man of his time. And what can I say about Naseeruddin Shah except he was a fabulous Nemo. Yes, I remember seeing that Disney movie "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." That movie is what started a young girl's fascination (okay, crush) on Captain Nemo, and Shah's portrayal brought it all back in spades! (You should really check out some of his other movies) He portrayed Nemo just as I had imagined him (and hello to all the dorks out there that didn't know Nemo is Indian!!!) I like that he was an excellent warrior, as well as a genius, and yet still was gentlemanly and cultured...just don't get him mad! He was, after all, a freedom fighter, and no, that wasn't supposed to be kung fu, but more likely the Sikh martial art of Gatka. People just don't bother to learn that other cultures have developed their own version of martial arts, I guess.
Anyway, to stop nitpicking other peoples comments, some of the other characters I enjoyed were Skinner (Curran, very cheeky) and Jekyll/Hyde (Flemyng, wonderful self-torture, there). Mina (Wilson) didn't unveil her "gifts" until they were needed, as it should be, and I have to give credit to the unappealing Dorian (Townsend) because I immediately didn't like him. Ick. The only weak link was Sawyer (West), but I believe it was because his character was squeezed in for...whatever reason.
I am no expert on CGI, but I felt the production values were wonderful. Wow...the Nautilus was stupendous (and loved the interior decor).
There has been a rumor out there that a sequel is being considered, and talk of "re-casting" many of the roles. That, to me, would be a HUGE mistake! If you don't want Sir Sean as Quatermain...don't re-cast. Just leave him out. Horrible mistake if you re-cast Nemo. Naseeruddin DEFINED Nemo. Skinner and Jekyll...oh, heck. Just bring them all back...except Sawyer. He really wasn't a necessary character (nothing extraordinary there). Again, no reflection on West.
Just MHO
Movie Review: Brings back memories of childhood fantasies
Summary: 5 Stars
Although critics and some other people have taken great pleasure in ripping this movie, I actually enjoyed it very much. It was a fun adventure flick with some of my favorite literary characters. It was just dark enough to add dimension to them without losing the fun of the genre. How could I not enjoy it? No, I haven't read the comics...sorry, "graphic novels," so I didn't "have it ruined for me." But, please, people. Like they are actually going to put that kind of darkness and violence in a movie kids are going to want to see? Up against "Pirates?"
Also, I guess I am one of the last generation of Americans that has read any classic literature. I and my sibs got every one of the literary references and laughed each time. Sure, I had a few raised eyebrows (Skinner naked in the snow? Surprised he didn't get frostbite!) and eyerolls (Sawyer! Oh, please! An obvious character addition for young girls). Still, this is a "what if" story, so what is the big deal? Sean Connery was a great Quatermain...very much a man of his time. And what can I say about Naseeruddin Shah except he was a fabulous Nemo. Yes, I remember seeing that Disney movie "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." That movie is what started a young girl's fascination (okay, crush) on Captain Nemo, and Shah's portrayal brought it all back in spades! (You should really check out some of his other movies) He portrayed Nemo just as I had imagined him (and hello to all the dorks out there that didn't know Nemo is Indian!!!) I like that he was an excellent warrior, as well as a genius, and yet still was gentlemanly and cultured...just don't get him mad! He was, after all, a freedom fighter, and no, that wasn't supposed to be kung fu, but more likely the Sikh martial art of Gatka. People just don't bother to learn that other cultures have developed their own version of martial arts, I guess.
Anyway, to stop nitpicking other peoples comments, some of the other characters I enjoyed were Skinner (Curran, very cheeky) and Jekyll/Hyde (Flemyng, wonderful self-torture, there). Mina (Wilson) didn't unveil her "gifts" until they were needed, as it should be, and I have to give credit to the unappealing Dorian (Townsend) because I immediately didn't like him. Ick. The only weak link was Sawyer (West), but I believe it was because his character was squeezed in for...whatever reason.
I am no expert on CGI, but I felt the production values were wonderful. Wow...the Nautilus was stupendous (and loved the interior decor).
There is rumor out there that a sequel is being considered, and talk of "re-casting" many of the roles. That, to me, would be a HUGE mistake! If you don't want Sir Sean as Quatermain...don't re-cast. Just leave him out. Horrible mistake if you re-cast Nemo. Naseeruddin DEFINED Nemo. Skinner and Jekyll...oh, heck. Just bring them all back...except Sawyer. He really wasn't a necessary character (nothing extraordinary there). Again, no reflection on West.
Just MHO
Movie Review: "How many times do I have to kill these cretins?"
Summary: 3 Stars
Based on the graphic novels (i.e. comic books) created by writer Alan Moore and illustrator Kevin O'Neill, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) was adapted for the silver screen by James Robinson (Hot Wheels) and directed by Stephen Norrington (Death Machine, Blade). The film features an interesting cast including Sean Connery (Dr. No, Highlander), who's also credited as one of the producers, Peta Wilson ("La Femme Nikita"), Tony Curran (Blade II), Jason Flemyng (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), Naseeruddin Shah (Monsoon Wedding), Stuart Townsend (Queen of the Damned), Shane West (Dracula 2000), and Richard Roxburgh (Van Helsing).
The film, set in the year 1899, begins with a bang as we witness some mysterious assailants with German accents breaking into the Bank of England in a giant tank. Next we see a zeppelin factory in Berlin assaulted by what appears to be British troops brandishing sophisticated weaponry. As the various attacks continue Europe is thrown into turmoil as countries begin pointing the accusatory finger at each other. Seems the British gooberment, believing an individual named The Fantom, who uses a Phantom of the Opera mask to conceal his identity, to be orchestrating the attacks, decides to assemble a team of extraordinary gentlemen (and a lady) including the following...hunter/adventurer Allan Quatermain (Connery), scientist/pseudo vampire Mina Harker (Wilson), sailor and inventor Captain Nemo (Shah), Rodney Skinner (Curran), who possesses the trait of invisibility, a snide, effeminate immortal named Dorian Gray (Townsend), and an American secret service goober by the name of Tom Sawyer (West)...oh brutha...anyway, after an run in with The Fantom, the group pops over to Paris in Nemo's ridiculously ginormous submarine called the Nautilus to gather a hulking Mr. Hyde, who, when in his non brutish form as Dr. Jekyll is played by Flemyng, finally setting sail for Venice, where a group of European leaders is set to gather offering a prime target for the villainous Fantom (seems The Fantom is interested in starting a world war so that he may profit from selling his fantastic weapons). Anyway, the group manages to foil The Fantom's plans and avert a catastrophic disaster, but there's treachery afoot as one of the team members is a double agent, working with The Fantom, eventually escaping in Nemo's mini-submarine called the Nautiloid...that's cute...but not before seriously crippling Nemo's ship through some sabotage. Soon after the group manages to get a line on The Fantom, following him to his secret base, which is actually a massive fortress somewhere in Mongolia, and learn the true nature of his nefarious plans along with his actual identity.
I'm not familiar with the source material for this film, but I am a little familiar with some of Alan Moore's other works including V for Vendetta, which I thought translated into an excellent film, and Watchmen, which was in the process of being adapted to the screen but currently seems to be in limbo. Given this familiarity, I got the impression the film strayed a bit, the focus on the special effects emphasized over the actual content within the source material. Now generally films do lose something in translation (they're rarely as good as the books they're based), but in this case it seemed especially true...anyway, as far as the positives...the movie was very slick, the action sequences plenty, the performances relatively decent...and the negatives...the dialogue often felt goofy, the heavy reliance on computer generated effects grew tiresome (I thought the miniature work awesoma), and the characters had little substance. I particularly despised the hokum, pseudo father/son relationship developed between Quatermain and Sawyer as it the more it grew, the more I gagged on its sickly sweetness (apparently Quatermain had a son-in-law who got killed under his watch, and now has found a sort of surrogate in Tom Sawyer...bleeech). I thought Peta Wilson looked good (she actually looks better here with dark hair than her normal blonde) but I thought her character odd in that she was supposed to be a vampire, but had no difficulty venturing into the daylight. Seems with what I know about vampires sunlight is especially harmful, with a special exception to Wesley Snipes character in the Blade films, but that seemed not the case here. The silliest character, for me at least, was Hyde. He was ridiculously huge, in league with Marvel's The Hulk...near the end there's a bit, without going too much into the story, where Hyde ends up fighting a misshapen Mega-Hyde, and things move into the realm of the asinine. As far as the other characters, well, they were there I suppose...I found it difficult to root for these so called `heroes' mainly because they possessed little of the substance one would have expected from their namesakes. Perhaps this was a case of trying to incorporate too many characters in a single film, and as a result most of them come off like cardboard cutouts, lacking various qualities necessary to flesh them out fully. As far as the main villain, well, I thought his plan, as initially presented, an interesting one, but once his full plan (which included a number of aspects) was revealed it mired itself into convoluted mess, at least in terms of execution, specifically because it was dependant on elements which were out of his control. I thought the `Fantom' persona unnecessary, overly cumbersome, and senseless in general. I also thought, given the character's obviously extensive resources, it seemed foolish that he should always be in the middle of the action (and danger), especially since he had an army equipped with highly sophisticated weapons of mass destruction. By the way, one might feel a certain sense of immunity having their secret hideout/fortress in a remote location, but that doesn't mean one should skimp on security measures. The League showed up at The Fantom's door, knocked out like two guards, and they were in. just like that. Oh well...all in all a there's a whole lot of colorful, farcical action throughout, but if you're looking for substance, given the abundance of so called literary characters, or something akin to Moore's original vision, you're probably going to be disappointed.
The picture, presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) looks excellent, and the audio, available in 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround (English and French), and Dolby Digital Surround (Spanish), comes through most excellent. As far as extras there's two commentary tracks, one with producers and cast members, and another with a number of crew members, along with 12 extended and deleted scenes, a behind the scenes documentary titled `Assembling the League' which provides a lot of `making of' materials, and subtitles in English and Spanish. I dunno...seems kind of skimpy for a film that was as heavily promoted as it was prior to its theatrical release.
Cookieman108
A couple more things...I thought the film could have used a couple more comely females running around because as it stands, it kind of comes off as a sausage fest (and it's not like a couple extra characters would have hurt the film as it is). Also, did anyone else who saw this have a hankering to yank on Captain Nemo's extraordinary long beard? He kind of looked like the lost member of ZZ Top...
Movie Review: Not reccomended DVD
Summary: 3 Stars
If you are a serious DVD collector, do not get this DVD. The extras are low rate, even so, this is the only release since its original DVD release. The extras include:
*Audio Commentary by the Producers and Actors
*Behind the Scenes Documentary
*12 Deleted Scenes