The League Of
Extraordinary Gentlemen
Sean Connery, Naseeruddin Shah,
Peta Wilson, Tony Curran
Director : Stephen Norrington

Looks like I might be the only person on the face of the planet so far not to think that The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a total loss. Then again, I've always been good at suspending my expectations at the movies. Name one film that ever came up as good as the book . . . my point exactly.
    Despite the Yanks substituting characters that aren't in the original book and missing the point entirely of what it means to be quintessentially British, it's not half bad. Maybe the UK reviews will be kinder if they can see past the minor flaws. On the plus side, it's not over-hyped and you just might surprise yourself with a sleeper hit.

If you're not familiar with the story, check out counterculture's review of the graphic novel it's broadly based on. The movie adaptation is typically huge, some of the effects are great, some suck but, directed by Stephen Norrington of Blade fame, you can be sure it's a good looking ride. The opening sequence alone is worth the admission price as a tank batters its way through the Bank Of England in the prologue to the destruction of the old Empire.
    The casting can be a little ropey sometimes but The Invisible Man and the Jekyll and Hyde scenarios are both deserving of a mention. If anything, Sean Connery is a little disappointing but then it's been no secret that there has been some tension on set between he and Norrington.

Y'know, the more I think about it, this has all the ingredients to enable it to go down with the public as badly as The Avengers did, but then, with Joe Public largely not giving a crap - probably even not having heard of half the characters in their original context - maybe they should just shut the fuck up.
    Then again, I thought Darkman was pretty good too. Just keep telling yourself, it's only a big dumb-ass movie.

:: Sion Smith