The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

Director:

Stephen Norrington

Writers (WGA):

Alan Moore (comic books) and
Kevin O'Neill (comic books) ...

Release Date:

11 July 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Fantasy | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Prepare for the Extraordinary

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Suicide Pill | DC Comics | Fall From Height | Graveyard | Altered Version Of Studio Logo

Awards:

6 nominations

Cast

Sean Connery	...	Allan Quatermain
Naseeruddin Shah	...	Captain Nemo
Peta Wilson	...	Mina Harker
Tony Curran	...	Rodney Skinner (The Invisible Man)
Stuart Townsend	...	Dorian Gray
Shane West	...	Tom Sawyer
Jason Flemyng	...	Dr. Henry Jekyll / Edward Hyde
Richard Roxburgh	...	M
Max Ryan	...	Dante
Tom Goodman-Hill	...	Sanderson Reed
David Hemmings	...	Nigel
Terry O'Neill	...	Ishmael
Rudolf Pellar	...	Draper
Robert Willox	...	Constable Dunning
Robert Orr	...	Running Officer

Also Known As:

LXG (USA) (promotional abbreviation)
LXG: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (USA) (trailer title)
Liga der außergewöhnlichen Gentlemen, Die (Germany)
The League (USA) (promotional title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of fantasy violence, language and innuendo.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA | Germany | Czech Republic | UK

Language:

English | German | Italian

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39870) | Iceland:12 | Malaysia:U | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:G (Québec) | Canada:PG | Chile:TE | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:14 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A (original rating) | UK:12 (video rating) (2003) | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Company:

Angry Films

Trivia:

The Character of Campion Bond, a British Intelligencer, was to be a main character in early drafts of the script (Roger Moore was considered for the role). He was eventually totally cut out of the film to be saved for a possible sequel.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: While Bram Stoker's vampires are not fond of sunlight, they are not adversely affected by it in the spectacular ways invented by writers of movie versions of the Dracula story.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sanderson Reed: [to coachman] Don't... wander... off.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Son of Africa

Saturday Matinee the LXG way.

Well, I just came out of the theater after having viewed LXG. First off, I do not think it was a bad movie. While i would not recommend it as a must see movie, I certainly didn't find it to be a waste of my time. Sure, some plot points could have been developed more/better, but hey, I didn't walk in expecting Shakespeare. Though I haven't read the graphic novel on which the film is based, I have read that both the graphic novel and the movie take place in a reality alternate from both out history and our literary canons; which means that even though Stoker never wrote Mina as turning into a vampire, it's okay for LXG to take the license to do so. And so on and so forth.

Yes, it would have been nice to see Connery make his character a little more swashbuckling. But maybe that was the writing. I almost loathe watching anything with Peta Wilson, but i found here surprisingly interesting in this movie. In fact, other than Tom Sawyer's character seeming a bit incomprehensible, I think the other Leaguers were pretty interesting. But what was the deal with the bad guy, "M"? I thought his M.O. was even more pointless and less fleshed-out out than any of the flattest Bond villains I've had the displeasure of seeing. It was just a badly written character.

Just a word or two about the Mr. Hyde F/X, the CGI wizards of the Hulk could take a clue. Sure, both characters were CGI rendered, but Mr. Hyde's size carried a credible degree of mass and weight, whereas the Hulk often moved as if mass-less, making him seem too two dimensional.

All in all, I give the movie a respectable 6/10.