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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- #leagueofextraordinarygentlemen #seanconnery
Stam Fine Reviews looks at Stephen Norrington's film adaptation of a comic that melded a bunch of different literary heroes into a team up film that was neither heroic nor particularly literate. League of Extraordinary gentleman was Sean Connery's last film for various reasons and it's not one of his best.
Also stars Peta Wilson, Richard Roxburgh, Jason Flemyng.
I hate to be the one to tell you, but it's "The Picture of Dorian Gray", not "The Portrait..." It's an easy mistake to make; took me all of 40 years to finally remember that.
I stand corrected! lol
I don't care what everyone else thinks. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.
I was about to write the exact same thing but now I don't have to.....Thanks...
Agreed.
Me too
Absolutely, it wasn't great cinema or anywhere near high art but I was entertained and never bored. At the end of the day, isn't that what you want from a film? As for Sean Connery, he was an arsehole. He was very good at being Seen Connery in his films but he wasn't much of an actor really, in my opinion anyway. But he was a horrible man in real life.
I know it’s not a classic but it is enjoyable and that’s ok with me.
I remember laughing uncontrollably during the car chase on the "Streets" of Venice. Whoever wrote that scene has never been to Venice.
Wow, slight factual inaccuracies there :D
The car would probably sink
Ahh, one of the great guilty pleasures in my life. I find it to be a far more interesting and dynamic movie than you do Stam. It has, as you pointed out, some nice effects, good set pieces (although a disturbing lack of color I admit), and fine acting. Even the plot, with its 'twist' reveal works for me, especially considering when it's set. I really like this movie. Yes, it could have been better (could it have?) but all in all, it's good fun and surprisingly witty!
Captain Nemo: We have trouble! Mr. Hyde: Trouble? I call it sport!
Dying Goon: What are you? Dorian Gray: I'm...complicated.
When the enemy drinks the whole bottle and transforms, I felt they did an amazing job of bringing Kevin O'Neill's artwork to life. You could clearly see it was based on his style.
U would know going by your name!
Interesting fact: the actor who played Tom Sawyer went on to play Bane in the show Gotham… when I found that out that blew my mind lol
While Van Helsing (2004) is not without its flaws I would argue that it is a far more entertaining and coherent film the tLoEG. Plus I also like Van Helsing, whereas tLoEG is dull with little creative flair, despite the good cast.
Mostly agree on the review. I loved the original comics, as well as the literature that inspired it. The Invisible Man change was due to Universal having trademark on their version and the name given to Wells' character, in the film. It couldn't be used for this, though moore based his on the Wells novel, which is public domain. We get into copyright vs trademark, with that, which confuses people.
Moore wasn't totally original in this, because other writers had done meta-fictions before, especially Phillip Jose Farmer. Farmer wrote a Sherlock Holmes pastiche, The Peerless Peer, where Holmes and Watson meet Tarzan, plus some cameos from pulp literature, like The Shadow and The Spider. He had Phileas Fogg as an agent for an alien entity and gave Dorothy Gale a barnstorming pilot son, who ends up in Oz. Farmer wrote a fictional biography of Tarzan, Tarzan Alive!, based on the various Burroughs stories. In it, he creates a scenario, based on a famous meteor crash site, Wold Newton, in England. he posits that the locals and passers by become extraordinary adventurers and villains, as do their descendants. It is called the Wold Newton Universe and Farmer had a whole family tree, linking Tarzan to other literary characters. He followed that with a bio of Doc Savage, doing the same and expanding it further. He then wrote three novels, crossing Tarzan and Doc Savage, but changing the names (Lord Grandreth and Doc Caliban), with a novel for each and one where they meet. His Riverworld series had all kinds of people meet and his Greatheart Silver trilogy was filled with pastiches of pulp adventure heroes, like The Spider, The Shadow, Operator 5, G-8 and his Battle Aces and similar.
Michael Moorcock did a bit of work along this line and British writer Kim Newman has done a bunch, in his Anno Dracula series.
Connery did the film after turning down The Matrix (or was it Star Wars?) and The Lord of the Rings, then seeing them become massive hits. He took the next big one that came along and it was this. The production was hampered by major flooding, in Europe, at the studio.
Stuart Townsend was fired off the Lord of the Rings, as Aragorn, leading to Viggo Mortensen getting the role.
"... like messing up the food truck with the truck emptying the septic tank" ROFL
I'd have been in the first of my 20's when this came out. I'll be honest I didn't mind it. It clearly lacked the Blockbuster edge but it was ambitious in its own way. It was a silly but enjoyable action romp, if you take it too seriously you won't enjoy it. Van Helsing was more enjoyable for me. Better actors who were directed to ham it up. VH had a comic booky feel, it was playful, well-paced stylish and visually stylish. Again if you don't take it too seriously you will enjoy it more.
I remember watching this in the cinema when it came out. Felt it betrayed the comics from the very beginning on. Hollywood bastardization of a cool concept: super people who are basically normal fallible guys with extraordinary and complex circumstances around them. This made them too cartoony in my opinion: Mina is a vampire, Hyde is the hulk , Nemo does kung fu, Connery plays Connery. Lost is the comics ambiguity and ugliness, all i see is Hollywood farce.
I for one adore Van Helsing! I may have been the only person in the theatre when I saw it in the cinema but I grinned the whole way through.
I still love the insanity of this one.
I think the movie holds up today. The Nautilus Ship is one of the coolest concepts I've seen in movies.
Another good review mate. Dorian is a great creepy story. One of my favourites.👍🏻
The design, effects and film craft were great. The rest I blame on Connery for being an intolerable obnoxious prick.
I will never forget calling Jason when he was in the make-up chair for Hyde. He said 'If you could see me now, you'd see I have a huge ear attached to my head...'
This kept almost being a good movie - but kept letting itself down! Every time I thought 'this isn't too bad - the movie just embarrassed itself by doing something really dumb!
"Electric Boogaleague" 🤣🤣🤣
I wanted to like this movie, but the story was such a let down.
I skipped LXG and Van Helsing because of the poor reviews. As a fan of many of the literary characters, I went back to LXG a couple of years ago and it was... fine. Not great, but not the disaster I was expecting and I actually quite enjoyed it.
With that in mind, I watched Van Helsing, well... about 10 minutes of Van Helsing. 😯🙁😟😤🚫💩
I loved the LXG comic (all of the ABC comics line were top-notch, actually 🤔) and saw both the movie and Van Helsing in theaters. Ended up liking Van Helsing better as i was expecting much more from LXG. Great expectations resulted only in great disappointment ☹️
Sean Connery only said yes to this movie because he previously said no to The Matrix and LOTR due to hella confusing scripts, so he took a chance on yet another confusing script thinking he was the golden child when it came to movie scripts. Turns out it was more of a roll of the dice.
Alright I'm not sure about The Matrix but he was asked to be in LOTR.
I remember this movie as "good looking" but also a confusing mess. I laughed out laud when I realized Dorian Gray was in this movie. That's so random, and that's possible not even the worst character in the movie.
Why anybody would play a character that's invisible is beyond me. Didn't we learn anything from that Humphrey Bogart movie where he plays a runaway convict with bandages all over his head. You can't see the star, he's all covered up half the movie (Dark Passage).
That's why they put lights inside space helmets.
The power of invisibility only works in real life, not in movies.
Nearly every portrayal of Jeckel/Hyde is very different from the source material. The compound didn't make him bigger or stronger, in fact he ended up being shorter as Hyde. The main effect was that Jeckel was freed from his feelings of obligation to society and any sense of compassion or dignity.
If anything, it was Hammer Studio's film, Dr Jeckel and Sister Hyde, that seemed to get the point behind the story (albeit with a gender bending twist).
This and Van Helsing are both of my guilty pleasure films!!!
A vastly entertaining dumpster fire that's gloriously BAD, and damn proud of it!!
If they remake this now, they would add steam boat Willie :)
The _Nautilus_ moving at 100 knots. The _League_ standing on the open deck with a slight breeze. 🤦
I'll say here what I say to anyone about this film, read the comic instead. (or watch the TV series Penny Dreadful).
I do think this would pretty much be an impossible comic series to adapt effectively, especially as it went on. I don't actually hate the film, though.
I loved this movie.
Thought it was a good pisstake on these characters.
Are you saying it was meant to be taken seriously?
I love this movie - Connery is great even tho he doesn’t want to be - it’s epic 👍
A friend who was a huge fan of the comic book dragged me to see this movie when it came out. I thought it was okay (though I've never watched it again) but he was furious.
It was not too bad though after I got the graphic novels which were better :) but over all I enjoyed it :) Got it on dvd somewhere :)
Not to be confused with the League of Gentlemen which is supposed to be funny. People seem to get the names mixed up.
That name was taken from the caper film League of Gentlemen, about a group of ex-Army officer who carry out an armored car robbery, with military planning and precision, starring Jack Hawkins and Richard Attenborough.
They stripped everything that was good and interesting from the comic and ended up with this crap of a movie
I honestly thought it as an OK movie when I saw it in the theater, not the worst thing I'd ever seen, but not that great either. Then I read the source material and, yeah, kind of hate it now.
12:22 That rifle shot is just impressively bad. The hammer drops half a second before the badly animated muzzle flash, the recoil happens after that for some reason, and it's clear it's just Connery clumsily pulling back the gun.
Wha...what are you? I'm complicated.
I didn't mind it in a Doug McClure wet Saturday afternoon type of way
I would pay a King's Ransom for an immortal left knee.
This should have been a good movie. The premise and cast are really good.
The League of Extraordinary Sliders
I really loved the designs of Nemo's tech with it's sleek futuristic Indian steampunk aesthetic.
Also I thought it was obvious that Dorian was a baddie. He's supposed to seem totally innocent and untouched by his sins, that's his thing. This version was just an immortal arsehole.
Great concept. Questionable execution...
I guess they got the sample from Connery's beard.
Something about this movie feels so hollow
Yes! That's the perfect description.
Saw this in theaters in high school. I want to love this movie. What a premise! But it just misses its mark. It’s been 20 years time for e reboot 😂
Man I loved this movie for some reason as a kid in the early 2000s😂
Oh i don't know i thought it was an entertaining Film
I saw this movie and agree with Mr. Fine that it started out well and then they fumbled the ball. Tom Sawyer seemed an unnecessary addition to the team.
Studio insisted for one American character to the League, and because there are not too many suitable ones in Public Domain, Sawyer it was. Turning Mina Harker to sexy vampire, instead of useless Victorian suffragette nag of the comic was a change i wholly applaud...Peta Wilson was hot.
II: Electric Boogaleague.
I don't get the criticism of the twist?
The movie that retired Sean Connery
Penny Dreadful did it better
I still enjoyed this film. I won't argue that it's great cinema but I found it to be a fun movie to watch. Partially because I recognized the characters from the various novels but also because I'm a sucker for a story where a group of people who normally would never hang out together now have to team up to save the day.
Now Pal The Movie Was Ok
I love this flick, extraordinarily. What a fun romp. I wish they'd have completed the next installment as they had planned.
While the movie itself may have had some, I love the concept of using characters in the public domain as the basis for a modern movie.
Why we need to loosen up copyright laws back to where they were before Disney messed with them.
If we go back to where the laws were a few decades ago Star Trek would already be in the public domain and people could be making good fan movies!
This. Van Helsing. Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow. The Chronicles Of Riddick - that 2nd one, the 'sequel' to Pitch Black. Spielberg's TinTin.
All very confusing movies.
All wonderful - VERY wonderful - their intent.
I enjoy these movies not only for what they are - which is rescued from a shitshow of bollixing-up like Ron Howard did with Solo (he did! Sure, it still fell short, but... come on! Relax a little).
...and all of them are still better than the current Marvel/Lucasfilm output, even if it's because they at least TRY.
THAT's the horribleness of Marvel/Lucasfilm under Disney: the lack of effort.
Oh, also better than V For Vengeance, too.
Just remember: Jar Jar Binks ROCKS.
In so wanted to like this film, but three things ruined it for me:
1) abbreviating it to 'LXG' 🤮
2) The pointless token american character
3) There was a newgrounds animation out at the time called 'LXG in 15 minutes' which was such a perfect skewering of every plothole and contrivance in the film I just couldn't take it half-seriously at all. Arguably more entertaining than the actual film.
Suprise Sherlock Holmes and Robin Hood weren’t along for the ride
Actually, Sherlock Holmes could have added something, especially as Moriarity is there
Oh it was supposed to be Tom Sawyer? and the guy that played Dr Jekyll from Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is the worst actor ever, it's like watching a talking piece of kiln dried timber, he was rubbish in Deep Rising and even worse in the remake of Quatermass and I agree Van Helsing kisses John Thomas's in hell, that is the campiest depiction of Dracula ever, of a pantomime standard
The Invisible Man was original, they couldn't use Griffin for obvious reasons.
I mean, it's a mess of a movie but at least it's different. I'd watch this over your average generic Marvel/DC movie because those are all the bloody same. Plus this has Sean Connery AND Tony Curran.
What a way for Sean Connery to call it a career. This should have been OK if it was darker, less pulp. Haven't seen Peta Wilson in ages since... except for small role in Superman Returns.
Maybe it's because when I was a kid all of these characters from books that we read were very prevalent in our imaginary play and conversations but I love this movie and I've seen it 100s! I know most of the dialogue and the Easter eggs were exciting to me. I knew of Nemo and Sawyer from my older brother and Mena from my sister. It gives me the warm and fuzziest. Most of us 50 and up really enjoyed it.
Does this ever happen to you? Sometimes you really like a movie and everyone says it's terrible. And you can't figure out why. For me it happened with "Last Action Hero" and this movie. Neither are great movies but I really enjoyed them. His major complaint was the twist that the guy that got them together was the bad guy? OK. Not going to win any awards for creativity but it makes the whole movie terrible? What? I think some people hate it when there's a movie people can go see that's just fun.
Don't bother watching this movie. Go read the original graphic novels by Alan Moore. You'll enjoy them far more than the movie.
Huh....I actually enjoyed this flick. I`m a sucker for comics and the story is`nt too bad. Thanks again for the review.
Hope you also do videos on From Hell (2001), V for Vendetta (2005) and Constantine (2005)
LXG is at the tail end of an era of movies like The Avengers, Lost in Space & The Saint that look good(ish) and I want to love...but I don't...and yet I've seen all of those movies at least 3 times apiece.
I always rather liked this movie. It's not great but it was acceptable. I will say something that will likely get me barred from ever commenting on things again but... I liked the movie more than the comic. The movie felt like it moved along nicely, the characters were fun and I didn't bemoan the time I spent with it. The comic... was just depressing and felt like it was Moore rubbing my face in how horrible all the characters were.
This looks quite good, I might see if I can rent this on VHS from my local video store.
Try Blockbuster. I hear they rent tapes.😂
I watched it back in the day and thought it was okay. Only in the last five years or so did I finally get into the comics and can only look back on the film as a massive missed opportunity. But to give it some props, the production design, cinematography and performances are good. Shame it robbed us of more Connery roles, and of more Stephen Norrington films. They may not have been good but they'd have been interesting.
In the future can we look forward to the League of Copyright-Struck TH-camrs?
If the script was as good as the production design and the characters had been seeded into the narrative better, it might have been a really good film.
The worst offence for me was Moriarity, in that the Sherlock Holmes novels never had any truck with sci-fi/fantasy and thereby he doesn't belong in a movie featuring fantasy creatures and mythological scenarios.
I think this and Van Helsing where cases of the CGI genie escaping the bottle.
A case where a new toy can be counterproductive when not in the hand of a master ( I.e. not James Cameron or Steven Spielberg )
No sense of scale involved
Pop a Block on it
I've seen the movie but whenever I try to picture it, I can only remember the graphic novel.
In particular the part where Hyde blanks the Invisible Man to death.
This movie didn't have a chance. "The book has a lot of sex, violence and nudity. What are we aiming for?" "PG-13." Rips the book apart "Bloodless violence then."
That comic is great. Also the seconds book. Where Hyde eats a Martian.
I didn't think it was thaat bad. But I did sit through the Star Wars Holiday Special so...
I know this is different from the GN, but to be fair, they started filming before the final panel was completed. I rather prefer this film to the "kite fight" ending in the comic.
I remember liking this movie as a kid, then again, I remember liking it until they has to go to the antartica. That´s when it go boring. The first hour it´s entertaining at least.
6:48 Ofc the invisible man/van gogh actor also played a role in TV's Elementary as the father of Moriarty's child
Saw it in theatre with a friend who knew and liked the source material, so he hated it.
I remember liking the first two thirds of the movie itself, but loving Moriarty’s big coat! Wishing I could have gotten a nice long close up view. Or better yet, one of my own.
Was immensely amused by P. Wilson’s impression of Quartermain.
Wow thought Stam would have been more favorable to this. Hes been kinda mean lately.
He said it was dull but not as bad as people want it to be.
I honestly thought he'd be "moore" honest.
"mr Watermaine, your alias for this mission will be Bond, James Bond.".
Basically it. Wanting to like it more than I did. Felt like a kitchen sink approach in addition to the pile of literary characters. I still would like to read the comic books though
So much wrong with this movie, but for some reason the fact that the Nautilus seems to change size repeatedly is what really infuriated me.
I like this. it is a trashy B movie and I like that. I make trashy B movies. This is fun^^
'Van Helsing' is great fun, man. I don't know what you're on about.
Great movie
I actually liked the movie and even purchased the DVD.
Watched it a couple of times it's anenjoyable romp😊
I quite enjoy this movie, and i also enjoyed the Avengers tv show movie. Lol
I thought it was a pretty decent movie. But, if the writer didn't like it, what did they do wrong.
Went to see this at the cinema and thought it wasn’t terrible at the time. Haven’t seen it since then. Went to see van helsing at the cinema and thought it was terrible.
Dunno. I quite liked it. Hadn't read the graphic novels, despite being an avid comic reader well into adulthood.
It was bad enough that, did i watch it? Theres still a demon in me that wants to watch the avengers...
I heard Connery gave his agent the back of his hand after this bombed.