The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) Review

 

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

In honor of the passing of Sir Sean Connery this past Saturday, Harper Emch and I only felt it fitting to pay our respects with his final film.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen features a team up of Victorian Era book protagonists, as they band together to take down the nefarious M and prevent a World War.

Ya know, for all the hate this movie has gotten since it’s release and over the years, it’s not thaat bad. When viewed in the lens it is intended, which is obviously an action fantasy, not grounded in reality whatsoever, it’s actually quite enjoyable. It’s got a tight story, some decent twists, and it puts a unique spotlight on some of our favorite novelized characters from years past, all in one film. It does lose some points in it’s convolution and special effects, a lot of which have aged poorly, with the final monster looking like a less rendered, evil Scrappy Doo from Scooby Doo. There are some odd inconsistencies which are explained later, but they still don’t make much sense, like the connection M has with Quatermain, which gets him killed (but then is hilariously reversed at the end, which was even more out of left field).

The redeeming quality of the movie though is it’s characters, giving us a plethora of neat callbacks, with each actor bringing cool bits to each character and shepherding others along on their journey. Obviously the star is the always awesome Sean Connery, who even in his old age kicks major ass in this film. Other notable performances include Naseeruddin Shah, Tony Curran, and Richard Roxburgh, whose Moriarty shares an uncanny resemblance to Sean Bean, and dies like him too.

League of Extraordinary gentlemen tries to make a franchise out of a movie that doesn’t yet know it’s own rules, with it’s big action pieces, neat concept, and enticing characters not enough from making it feel uninspired, though still fun and entertaining. And while it doesn’t break much new ground, it does give us a taste for future blockbuster team up movies like Avengers, setting a formula and precedent that is still followed to this day.

Rest in Peace Sir Sean Connery.

5.2/10