neumu [ cinematronic ]




	The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen
	Stephen Norrington Sean Connery, Shane West, Stuart Townsend, Peta Wilson, Tony Curran, Jason Flemyng, Naseeruddin Shah, Richard Roxburgh, David Hemmings 2003		Comic-book auteur Alan Moore conceived his illustrated saga "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" in the tradition of superhero groups such as the Justice League of America. But rather than, say, Superman, Batman, Flash and Wonder Woman teaming up against overwhelming odds, Moore's twist was that the heroes in his bunch would be Victorian-era figures from classic adventure, horror and sci-fi novels: explorer Allan Quartermain (Sean Connery), schizoid Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde (Jason Flemyng), scientist/brigand Captain Nemo (Naseeruddin Shah), Dracula's former "bride" Mina Harker (Peta Wilson), the Invisible Man (Tony Curran) and so on. It was a natural for a movie adaptation, but rather than the clever, post-modern literary epic that the original suggested, the film is a noisy, tacky B-movie relying on chintzy CGI effects and the actors' swaggering élan. The script tries to juggle all the characters in a tale about their 1899 alliance to stop a warmongering arms dealer with a cache of super-weapons, adding Dorian Gray (Stuart Townsend) and Tom Sawyer (Shane West) for stud appeal and failing to offer a modicum of Moore's pointed wit. Haphazard bargain-matinee fodder.