Rating: 
Summary: The movie might be good but the trailers for it are horrible
Review: First, this is not a review about the upcoming movie, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." I intend to have my children take me to see the movie for my birthday and will write a review at that time. This is a rant (with a touch of raving) about the ad campaign that 20th Century Fox has put together for this film.I have seen the teaser for this film and at least two different trailers, including the most recent one to make its appearance on television. Clearly, the main selling point for the film is actor Sean Connery, and that is not something about which I would be inclined to complain. However, here is a film that can easily be sold to the public in a sentence or two that would run essentially as follows: "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" brings together the "original" superheroes of late 19th-century fiction: Allan Quartermain, Mina Murray Harker, Captain Nemo, the Invisible Man, and Dr. Jekyll (and his alter ego Mr. Hyde. Now, that was based just on my having read all of the comic books by Mr. Alan Moore & Mr. Kevin O'Neill. Clearly the film version is doing some tinking with the lineup: Dorian Gray has been added and apparently Dracula's bite had an effect on Mina. But even the most recent trailer, which talks about "VAMPIRE" and "BEAST" and such, STILL does not mention who these characters are and that this is not just any invisible man but the creation of H.G. Wells. Ironically, Connery's character is the least recognizable of the bunch since H. Rider Haggard's "She" and "King's Solomon Mine" have not had the cinematic exposure of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" let along "Dracula." Maybe the explanation for this simplistic and stupid ad campaign is that nobody in Hollywood has read let alone heard of those original novels and think that Oscar Wilde writes British drawing room comedies. But what I know is that every time I have explained to somebody WHO those characters are in the action-packed and pretty confusing trailer for "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," that their interest in seeing the film has at least DOUBLED. Even if you have only seen the trailers and have not read the comic books, I think you can see the validity of my point. Will 20th Century Fox get its act together and put out an intelligent trailer before the film opens on July 11th? Will Allan Quartermain and his associates be able to save the Empire for her majesty Queen Victoria? I must admit I have much more faith in the abilities of a pulp fiction character than I do the collective intelligence of Hollywood studio executives. Despite the inept ad campaign I look forward to the movie and to writing an actual review. Thank you for your attention to this rant.
Rating: 
Summary: Who Says "Classical" Literature Is Boring?
Review: Just the idea of this rocks. What would the world be like if the fictional characters from classic literature were "real" and interacted with each other in the same world? Taken from the comic book of the same name the, always interesting Alan Moore created a world where Alan Quartermain, Wilhimina Murray ("Mina" from Dracula), Dr. Henry Jeckyll (and his alter-ego, naturally), Captain Nemo, and Griffin (the Invisible Man) all exist. Brought together by British MI5, they must use their extraordinary talents to stop a menace that threatens the British empire. Without their help, the sun might set on the British Empire. Combine the elements of Victorian/Edwardian style, pulp action heroes, spy novels, and a little steampunk and that is the the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The shared universe idea has been around for many years, but Alan Moore has taken it in a interesting direction. In the comic book, Moore fills his world with characters of 19th/early 20th century literature, including Fu Manchu, Professor James Moriarty, and Inspector Dupin (go read Edgar Allen Poe). And yes, even Shelock Holmes makes an appearance. God Save the Queen!
Rating:
Summary: decent action
Review: there was some decent action. the sets also looked pretty good. the dialog was really stupid. connery's character said that the american way was to shoot a lot of bullits without aiming, but with five round clips if you were lucky, firing indescriminantly wasn't an option. and he forgot that sharpshooters were a big reason that america kicked his country's a$$ and became a country.
Rating:
Summary: OK for hard core Connery Fans only!
Review: No matter how many average, weird, or downright awful movies Sean Connery makes, he'll always command an audience. In this film, Connery plays a retired British explorer roped into preventing WW I by leading a team of misfits in a vaguely Bondian adventurer. As a nice twist, most of the misfits consist of 19th Century British villains such as Mr. Hyde, the Invisible Man, and Captain Nemo. Of course, no one bothers to explain why such villains would agree to unite for any cause other than, well, villainy. The film is comic book-y in a bad way, with ridiculous dialogue and a poor sense of continuity, and the effects are frequently unintentionally funny, especially Mr. Hyde's appearance. Connery makes the film work as a throwaway action film, but it's clear from the extras that the cast and some of the crew were deluded into thinking this was something more. Not surprisingly, this movie plays much better on DVD than it did in the theaters. If you're a die-hard Connery fan, you'll like this one. If not, and you want to see Connery at his best, you'd be better off with Goldfinger.
Rating: 
Summary: not terrible - it's fun
Review: You probably know that LXG has the Invisible Man, Alan Quatermain, Captain Nemo and company in it. You can read the good and bad reviews. I haven't anything to report other than that I enjoyed it and LXG doesn't deserve it's bad rep.
Rating: 
Summary: Save your money, please!
Review: I was, quite literally, dragged to this by my husband and the poor dear is still hearing about it. He's never really subjected me to a "bad" film before, so even after reading ghastly reviews, I went along. All my worst fears where confirmed.
The basic idea of a movie that made literary figures into action heroes was both appealing and frightening to me. Yes, it would be interesting to see these characters from another perspective, but would they be dulled by the action oriented premise?
God yes! The characters where absolutely hollow. Everyone seemed to want to care about something, but they couldn't be bothered to spare the effort. The one brief glimpse of characterization is in the relationship between Quartermaine and Sawyer, and even that is never truly explored. There was a thin plot, but no real story, and it seemed like the whole film was merely a vehicle to allow the director to play with as many unique and nausea inducing camera angles as possible.
Beyond that, even my husband, who was largely interested in the effects promised was disappointed to a degree. I pay far less attention to how the effects work than he does, and yet some look fake even to me.
Rating:
Summary: Not very extraordinary
Review: Director Stephen Norrington apparently has an obsession with time bombs.
Every once in a while, the movie will cut to an ominously ticking stack of dynamite, that will inevitably go off a few seconds after we realize its there. And that just about sums up the movie; very predictable.
The plot is paper-thin and completely unbelievable. The script can be witty at times, especially the dialogue of Quatermain, Gray, and Skinner. But it tends to revert to cliched cheesiness around Nemo and Mina. The movie makes astounding leaps in logic, with the Nautilus first shown to be about 5 times the size of the Titanic, and in the next scene easily able to squeeze through the narrow canals of Venice. Also, the ship somehow ends up in Mongolia after sailing Northeast from Venice. The visuals are heavily overdone, and the CGI is rough.
So then what prevents this movie from bombing completely? It is the individual performances that hold it up. Sean Connery exudes charisma and authority, while Stuart Townsend is an understated revelation as the darkly charming Dorian Gray. Tom Sawyer was put in to draw the American cinegoer, but does a palatable job. And groanworthy moments apart (Monster Hyde actually initiates a team handshake), Dr Jekyll is very interesting. It is the way in which the cast, especially the Invisible Man, knows not to take themselves too seriously that makes the movie work.
Oh, and here's a tip. After the final explosion has subsided, stop watching immediately. You do NOT want to watch the lamest ending of all time.
Rating:
Summary: Consummate filming and special effects - Quite entertaining
Review: Sean Connery is getting on in years, but it doesn't show in this movie. The way the fight scenes are filmed, you would think he is still 007. These scenes are worth seeing.
Each character is true to his or her legend, and all actors render their roles impeccably. The ensemble makes for a unified story with some of the spark that makes a good movie become excellent. The special effects are expertly done. It's not an Oscar nominee, except possibly for the filming and the special effects, but it's worth your money.
Rating:
Summary: one of the funnest dvds around
Review: i rented lxg and liked it a lot. it was nice to see a movie that's just plain fun. the cast is really good. i'm a fan of the these literary characters and loved seeing them all together. i like comic book styled movies and will adding this one to my collection of dvds. anyone who likes entertaining escapism should see this one.
Rating:
Summary: Really Wanted to Like This One
Review: This movie appeared to have everything going for it: a unique idea with a literary background, a terrific cast, top-notch special effects.
But it just doesn't work.
The machine guns and car chase were distracting for 1899. Sean Connery always adds weight to any proceedings and Peta Wilson is sexy as a vampire. I loved the clash of literary characters like Dorian Gray, Jekyll & Hyde, the Invisible Man, etc. But I ended up wanting to like this movie more than I did.
(I'd also heard that Connery has another miserable time making this film, clashing with the young director and such. So much so that Harrison Ford, when asked if Connery will return as his father in the next Indiana Jones film, tersely says, "He's retired").
I'd like to see what the original graphic novels this was based on are like.
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