A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Date Viewed: 7/20

Details:

Sean Connery (Allan Quatermain)

Naseeruddin Shah (Captain Nemo)

Peta Wilson (Mina Harker)

Tony Curran (The Invisible Man)

Stuart Townsend (Dorian Gray)

Shane West (Tom Sawyer)

Jason Flemyng (Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde)

Richard Roxburgh (M)

Director: Stephen Norrington

Score: +

The Review: Its trailers had all the looks of a real stinker -- yet another movie with comic-book origins, high-end stars, and a potentially dopey plot -- but LXG turned out (surprisingly) to work much better than did Hulk (the most recent release in the same genre, mentioned here simply for comparison). Such things need not be over-budget SFX extravaganzas to be good. LXG succeeds, where Hulk did not, on the strength of a clever idea that was competently executed. Sure, it's been in the pulps for a while, but it's still clever.

The idea? Imagine collecting all the fictional, and roughly contemporary, Victorian heroes (and heroine) into a single plot line -- all this expertise arrayed against the forces of evil. Combing the literature of the time yields a fascinating crew, not necessarily ready or eager to "play well with others," but talents to rival a 20th-century Mission Impossible team. And that's the crux -- assembled by the mysterious "M" are such as: Allan Quatermain, Captain Nemo (and his craft Nautilus, for transport), Mina Harker (one of those who defeated Count Dracula, but at significant personal [and physiological] cost), The Invisible Man (or at least a second generation formula and thief), Dorian Gray, Special Agent Tom Sawyer, and not only Dr. Jekyll but also his alter ego, Mr. Hyde. Someone (who calls himself the Phantom) is trying to goad both Britain and Germany into a continental war, and the newly formed League is assembled to head off the villain.

The idea works. It is helped by a remarkable and expansive plot-space into which one can introduce all sorts of character interactions not envisioned by the original authors, but which do not seem at all out of character (so to speak) -- to the extent I am familiar with them. You are heartily encouraged to go back to the original sources, and familiarize yourself with the individual members of the League. There is some degree of (contrarian) homology to "Meeting of Minds," Steve Allen's TV series ('50s and '60s) predicated on bringing to the table a wide collection of historical non-contemporaries (e.g., engendering such disparate discussion as between Frederick Douglass and Marquis de Sade).

Not all is peaches and cream, however (what, me, quibble?). Some of the geography of China and Mongolia that is exploited by Captain Nemo is not on any maps I've ever seen (a deepwater route to the inner lakes?). And although I've recently been underwater in Venice (virtually, see The Italian Job), I don't recall that it has any characteristics of a deepwater port -- other than being wet and salty.

(26-Jul-03)

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