Movie Review – The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Well, it was a toss up between this movie or Pirates of the Caribbean. Seeing as Mich3lle had already read the LXG graphic novel it was lady’s pick tonight.
(Listen up fellas, when your woman wants to see Sean Connery best you just nod & smile)
Mich3lle mentioned some reviewers are calling this film an 18th century ripoff of the X-Men; it’s nothing of the kind. The characters are all familiar (Allan Quatermain, Dr. Jekyll, The Invisible Man, Tom Sawyer, Mina Harker, Captain Nemo & Dorian Gray). These peeps were around long before the X-Men plus there isn’t a mutant in the bunch. (Heh, who remembers Richard Chamberlain & Sharon Stone from the 1987 Allan Quatermain film?)
But don’t let that stop ya, The LXG is plenty disappointing on its own. Just another action picture that moves along with loose dialogue and an even looser plot. I admit being thoroughly amused at the mention of other fictional characters such as Phileas Fogg. My third grade teacher Mrs. Evans would be so proud as I did my first book report on Around The World In 80 Days. But that’s where the amusement ends. The movie clips along at a decent pace, but once again I will draw attention to the D+ cinematography used during the fight scenes. The public already knows that the average person cannot move as fast as Jet Li so there’s no use jiggling the camera, using quick zooms in & out while twisting camera shots at weird angles. It just looks bloody stupid. Also night scenes are not the best for fast moving action sequences.
As with all budding franchises they left the movie open for a sequel, but I wouldn’t start printing those t-shirts just yet.
Grade: C+ (Peta Wilson was cool as a vampire chick)
So not to be confused with the BBC Comedy “The League Of Gentlemen”, which is hilarious, then.
Should have gone to see Pirates of the Caribbean… now THAT was first class.
The Legs of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
“(Listen up fellas, when your woman wants to see Sean Connery best you just nod & smile)”
Too bloody right. Although in this case it may be better to go watch The Hulk or Johnny Depp and Orlando “Dinnerlady” Bloom in Pirates…
Or just do what I do when I can’t be arsed to watch a new movie: go through your old VHS tapes and find a classic to watch. Like, say, “The Abyss”, which never fails to make me wince (that drowning scene is sooooooo so scary).
She’s got some excellent cleavage going on there. Duct tape or inserts?
“Heh, who remembers Richard Chamberlain & Sharon Stone from the 1987 Allan Quatermain film?”
Speaking of Sharon Stone, there’s going to a be a Basic Instict 2! I love Sharon Stone.