Rating: Summary: Best movie of the summer Review: I had never heard of The League until information about the movie came out. Based on what I read, I was intrigued. As a fan of many of the literary characters shown in the movie I wanted to see how they had evolved. I was not disappointed. This movie brings together a collection of classical tragic hero and gives them a mission. If you don't recognize some of the names, then look at 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, the original Dracula story, the invisible man, The Painting of Dorian Gray, and of course the Alan Quartermain stories. It takes place at the end of the 19th century so there is still some of the innocence of a world that hasn't faced world wars. The last time I felt this excited watching a movie was when I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark. I'll definately be getting the DVD when its out. Until then, you have to see this movie.
Rating: Summary: Elegant and Fascinating Review: The League is a visually beautiful film, whether it is taking you to the rooftops, streets, canals, or docks of Venice, London or Paris, or slipping you away to the golden Kenyan sunshine or icy waters and snow-covered mountains of Mongolia. Each character in the team manages to hold his/her own quite well. You find yourself caring about the team, alternately laughing and holding your breath, as the madness begins (it is an action movie after all) and each member lands in and out of trouble. Before you know it, this first adventure is over and you are left wanting another. It begs a sequel, or at least a side-story or two (following the lives of one or more of the characters).
Rating: Summary: i saw it coming (guess i shoulda ducked) Review: Once again, Hollywood rapes and plunders another work of genius in order to make it accessible to the lowest common denominator. The graphic novel of the same name, by the incredibly talented Alan Moore, was full of sly literary allusions and wicked hilarity. The characters themselves are fictional entities all imagined to be living in the same plane of existence. The concept alone is incredible. A man named Mr. Bond is charged by his boss, the mysterious Mr. M, to round up these famously fiendish heroes. Mina Murray (why was she Harker in the movie? In the graphic novel, she divorced her husband and kept her maiden name) from Dracula, Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (whose Nautilus was way sweet in the GN but changed for no apparent reason in the movie. although still, admittedly, way sweet in the movie), the Invisible man (though in the movie he is not the invisible man, he is just a thief who stole the invisible man's potion), Alan Quatermain (spelled Quartermain in the movie), and Dr.Jekyll/Mr. Hyde (still more unnecessary changes. in the GN, Jekyll has been nearly taken over by Hyde WITHOUT taking the potion. Hyde was not the helpful guy he was in the movie.) So many changes were made from the GN that i'm surprised they even kept the title. The preceding comments were just a sampling. Some others: Quatermain is supposed to be a washed up opium fiend who is dragged from an opium den by Mina. Mina is supposed to be the leader of the group, not Quatermain. Where were the sparks between mina and Quatermain, anyway? Quatermain seemed to have more chemistry with Tom Sawyer than with Mina. And where the HELL did Tom Sawyer come from?? Have i read the right book? It's as confusing as reading Jaws and then going to see a movie called Jaws that's all about oral surgery. want more? You got it! Moriarty is not only ridiculously young, but his character is underdeveloped. Once he was exposed as moriarty, the evil genius of Sherlock Holmes books, why did he suddenly have a lower class accent? Moriarty was a gentleman villian! By the Holy Handgrenade, I am perplexed! The invisible man was found at a girls school, taking advantage of the girls in the name of the Holy Spirit. this is not in the movie. I thought i knew the meaning of dumbed down but another has been added to my lexicon. Even the bad guys have to give their entire back story so that the audience isn't confused. This includes Dorian Gray (the luscious Stuart Townsend) giving away the secret to his immortality and the end thereof. How stupid does Hollywood think we are? See the movie, THEN read the GN. It's the only way you'll enjoy it. I don't know if it's just because they wanted Sean Connery to be the focal point of the movie or what. All I know is that whoever adapted the screenplay writes like monkeys fingerpaint...
Rating: Summary: GREAT! Review: This movie ended up being more then I expected! It is very good and has pretty funny moments. GO OUT AND WATCH IT!
Rating: Summary: Good Fun Review: I will admit that I haven't read the graphic novels, and that I have no background information on LXG other than I just got home from the movie. I can tell you that it's not going to win any awards, but then again, if you were expecting an Oscar winning movie from something that is so obviously nothing but a good old fashioned movie, then you need more help than this review is going to be able to supply.As I said, having no background other than classic literary knowledge, of the characters, I found this movie to be a good way to spend a couple of very warm afternoon hours. It's FUN, and isn't that what we go to the movie for? It's an escape from reality and although there are obvious moments where your mind attempts to over analyze, if you can beat that back and just enjoy the movie as a nice break, you'll love it. There are quite a few pyrotechnical scenes in the movie and it is filled with action. Think James Bond 1899. As everyone knows, James Bond is filled with ridiculous battles and things that we KNOW couldn't and wouldn't happen, but we still love them. That is the movie in a nut shell. You KNOW that this just couldn't happen, but you also know it's a movie.. and you enjoy it. All in all a good film.. not award winning material, but a grand way to escape the day to day and relax for a bit.
Rating: Summary: Extraordinary Gentlemen, Indeed! Review: First off a small rant: Am I the only person sick of people posting reviews here of movies they haven't seen yet? As of this writing, there are six different reviews of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen on Amazon.com, and none of the reviewers have even SEEN the film. Wow. OK, on to the film! I've been a fan of Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neil's comic (On which the film is based) for years, so I had both high hopes and low expectations for LXG, as the abbreviation-crazy folks in Hollywood insist on calling it; After all, if Moore's groundbreaking graphic-novel From Hell could be so poorly served on film, what would become of the extremely literate League...? As it turns out, I was VERY pleased with the film, which doesn't so much adhere to the book as stay true to the feel of it. The book and film both concern a threat to the British Empire in the late 1800's that causes Her Majesty to gather a group of Heroes to counter the threat, all of whom are famous characters from Victorian-era literature. The characters who appear both in print and on film are Allen Quatermain, Mina Murray, Captain Nemo, Dr. Henry Jeckyll and his alter-ego Edward Hyde, and Hawley Griffin, The Invisible Man, who has been changed to Rodney Skinner, The Invisible Man, for the film, for some weird copyright reason. The film adds in Dorian Gray and Tom Sawyer, which may upset purists, but I actually thought they fit in quite well. The villain of the film is the mysterious, disfigured "Fantom", replacing the book's Fu Manchu, also presumably for copyright reasons. The source material is just crammed with Victorian literature references, so much so that a whole book has been published just for readers who want didn't get them all on their own. The movie also has a few literary nods, such as Nemo's First Mate Ishmael, but overall it never pretends to be anything other than what it is: A fun popcorn movie. The action scenes are fast-paced and well photographed, the plot moves along briskly and includes a few twists that should surprise even die-hard fans of The League's comics, and the effects are beautifully done; The depiction of Mr. Hyde is especially wonderful. If only The Hulk had looked so realistic... Sean Connery still makes a convincing action hero, and the rest of the cast all fill their roles ably, with Shane West (Tom Sawyer) and Stuart Townsend (Dorian Gray) standing out. Townsend is especially good as the foppish Gray. Despite cosmetic changes, such as changing the comic's all-too-human Mina Murray into a Vampire (Who seems to have no problem with sunlight...?), the film keeps the general feel of Moore's extraordinary (Pun intended) book, so overall, I'd say LXG is probably one of the best comic inspired movies I've seen in a long time, second only to Spider-Man. Newcomers to the world of The League should have a blast, and so will longtime fans (If they keep an open mind, that is.) Be on the lookout for the newspaper headline touting "VOLCANOS ON MARS?" in the background of the scene on the docks; The second comic book adventure of The League concerns H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds, so Director Steven Norrington may be setting up the sequel....YAY!
Rating: Summary: Great Story and good actors Review: Being a fan of comic books and comic book movies I just had to see The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and I was impressed. For die hard fans it may be a dispoint but really no movie is ever going to be just like the comic book. I enjoyed the charators and thought they got the right actors for the job. The plot is great and full of interesting twists. I'm not telling what happens but if your looking for a good time this is the movie. A must see of the big screen movie. My only complaint is there was a little to much CG in it but that was it. 4 stars
Rating: Summary: Extraordinary cross between Indiana Jones & X-Men Review: Spectacular visuals, great fight scenes, plenty of action, very cool. Well worth seeing at the movies and one to get on DVD when it comes out. Looking forward to more from this series.
Rating: Summary: Extraordinary-No! Gentlemen-Maybe. Review: I just saw this with my husband & daughter. I enjoyed it; they hated it. One thing I did NOT like was their portrayal of Captain Nemo. Perhaps it is faithful to the comic, which I have not read, but to me Captain Nemo is & always will be James Mason, as in Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I did, however, find Tom Sawyer adorable and Dorian Grey drop-dead gorgeous. Hyde was a low-budget Hulk and Jekyll was a tortured wimp who managed to come through when push came to shove. The settings were not realistic looking, but I'd bet that has to do with the "comic book" feel of the movie. There were a few funny bits, as when Captain Nemo's first mate said, "Call me Ishmael," or when the secret service agent who called them together said, "My superiors call me M," a reference of course to Connery's James Bond. I think Connery followed well in the footsteps of the two previous Quartermaines that I've seen, Stewart Granger and, believe it or not, Richard Chamberlain, and I rather liked the Invisible Man. It wasn't a bad hour and forty minutes, but I wouldn't recommend it as anything but camp with a little eye candy for men (Mina is quite attractive) and women. Don't pay full price for this--see it at a matinee!
Rating: Summary: Really Good. . . But Not Extraordinary Review: The thing that I found most interesting about this movie is that the characters are all based off of classic books! For instance, Tom Sawyer, Allan Quatermain, Dr. Jekyll, and so on. This movie is action packed, from beginning to end, and there were some unexpected twists. All in all i really liked this movie and thought it very original and will definitely go buy it when it is out.
|