The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
20th Century Fox
Rating: C
There are certain artistic creations that are so brilliant that it becomes impossible to adapt them to film in any way that is satisfactory. Alan Moore's comic book mini-series "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" is one of those things.
With that in mind, the makers of the film adaptation of said work make par for the course.
The film's premise is a simple one: Classic literary figures such as Allan Quartermain ("King Solomon's Mines"), Captain Nemo ("20,000 Leagues Under the Sea") and others are called upon to serve as the world's original "super-hero" team.
Understand that, having read Moore's masterpiece, I am unable to judge this movie without comparing. The source material's strength was its wit, cynicism and subtleties. Dialogue drove the plot. The story was about suspense, mystery and intrigue.
Steven Norrington's movie is a roller coaster ride of non-stop action, adventure and oddity. It does all of those things well. What it lacks is the class and charm of the comic.
The producers really dumbed this one down for us. Whereas Moore would make sly references to obscure literary supporting characters, this movie has to spell them out for us. Tom Sawyer has been added in to make the movie younger, hipper and more American. There are more explosions in ten minutes of this movie than both volumes of the comic that inspired it together.
Probably worst of all is the script. It's awful. Alan Moore is a sophisticated British-born author. The movie's script was written by James Robinson, a sloppy indie filmmaker whose only other credit is the entirely unwatchable "Comic Book Villains". (Family Video has a copy if you're into self mutilation and torture). The dialogue is full of cheesy one liners and god-awful puns. It is so bad that even a seasoned actor like Sean Connery can't make the language sound good.
Don't think Connery is off the hook, though. Of all the actors in this movie, he is the only one who doesn't treat his character with reverence. He seems to be playing a caricature of himself; not the classy and dry-witted Allan Quartermain of H. Rider Haggard's serial novels.
Connery excepting, the cast is by far the best part of this movie. Jason Flemyng delivers in Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde the performance we all deserved to get in "The Hulk." The roles of the Invisible Man, Mina Harker ("Bram Stoker's Dracula") and Captain Nemo are filled out wonderfully by virtual unknowns. Each one of them seems to have taken the characters to heart.
Also deserving recognition are the costume, set and visual designers. Often times it is easy to forgive the failures of this movie because it is so darned cool to look at. The visuals add to the fun of the action sequences and redeem the movie enough to be worthy of a Sunday matinee.
If you are a fan of comic books or British literature or if you have a general sense of self-respect and dignity for your own intelligence, this movie may not be for you. If you are able (or desire) to turn off your brain for a couple hours, you might want to part with the $7 ticket price and give it a look.
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