I would pay $10.00 to watch this movie
There are many naysayers on rampage over “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”, so I will do a rare thing and address this in this review. The character of the comments and reviews I have read about this movie boils down to one thing: People don’t like that it isn’t a strict rendition of the comic book. To paraphrase several reviewers, they feel that Hollywood is insulting their intelligence by dumbing down this movie for audiences. I will remind both my readers and those who state these sorts of things that comic book readers aren’t generally known for their massive intellects so much as for their body odor and acne.
Now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” or “LXG” has one flaw. That’s right, just one. That flaw is in the character of Tom Sawyer, who apparently wasn’t in the comic book that the movie is based on. In an interview I heard with the creators of the comic book, they stated that the character of Tom Sawyer was introduced into the movie in order that American audiences might identify more with the movie, as all the other characters are from 19th century British fiction. This, I have a small problem with. What I have a large problem with is the portrayal of Tom Sawyer in the movie.
Basically, Tom Sawyer is an extremely clever con artist, according to Mark Twain. According to this movie, however, he is an American cowboy cum spy. A nice, square-jawed young lad from the States… eager to learn at the knee of the Great White Hunter… mark Twain ought to be spinning in his grave at high velocity right now. Sorry, Hollywood, but you really ought to portray the American character as if you knew something about him. But ignoring Tom Sawyer is remarkably easy in this movie, thank goodness.
And here comes the breakdown. Overall, this movie is stunningly good. The actors all seem to know what they’re doing, with the possible exception of Shane West as Tom Sawyer, the action is stupendous… but what else could one expect from the director of “Blade”. The soundtrack is OK, the set and costume design are brilliant, the directing is good, and the story is mostly solid.
The characters in this movie should be familiar to anybody literate, and they are exciting and fun to see in a big action modern blockbuster. Basically, they are portrayed as superheroes. With that in mind, “LXG” is the most enjoyable superhero movie I’ve seen since “Blade 2”.
One of the best things about this movie is that it makes the viewer want to read more books. I am almost totally unfamiliar with the stories of Allan Quatermain, and this movie has spurred me into looking into them. Another thing which I caught, as a great fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work, was a few little references thrown into the movie which rang big bells in my head. This was a truly enjoyable aspect of the film, basically getting payback for all of the time I spent reading and re-reading the Sherlock Holmes stories. There were also a few of those Easter Eggs for Captain Nemo as well, but I’m not as familiar with Wells.
Speaking of Nemo, he is played by Naseeruddin Shah, a very famous actor in Bollywood (the Indian equivalent of Hollywood). Shah does a stupendous job, and he became my favorite character in the movie. This is also indicative of a possible importation of fresh new faces from overseas in American cinema, like when all those Hong Kong stars came over a few years back. With the fantastic cinematography of Bollywood in mind, it’s possible that another quantum leap will occur in Hollywood soon… like “The Matrix” did with Yuen Wo Ping and fight choreography.
In any case, I really can’t write much more about “LXG” without giving spoilers. Overall, this is one of my favorite movies of the year so far, and I would suggest it to anybody who likes movies.