The League of Extraordinary Gentleman (2003). Extraordinarily Ordinary.

#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.

[@l.a.gothro3999]

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.

[@StamFine]

I stand corrected! lol

[@tomstanziola1982]

I don't care what everyone else thinks. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

[@jomeke101]

I was about to write the exact same thing but now I don't have to.....Thanks...

[@daveautzen9089]

Agreed.

[@kevinwilkerson5103]

Me too

[@midnightmosesuk]

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.

[@DoctorDave5]

I know it’s not a classic but it is enjoyable and that’s ok with me.

[@stvdagger8074]

I remember laughing uncontrollably during the car chase on the "Streets" of Venice. Whoever wrote that scene has never been to Venice.

[@6581punk]

Wow, slight factual inaccuracies there :D

[@IanM-id8or]

The car would probably sink

[@bizarreabomination]

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.

[@legbert123]

U would know going by your name!

[@bensneb360]

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

[@mr.holzman9250]

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.

[@THEOUTCASTSCREATIVE]

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...'

[@IanM-id8or]

"... like messing up the food truck with the truck emptying the septic tank" ROFL

[@nrgspike]

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.

[@YolandaAnneBrown95726]

I still love the insanity of this one.

[@SoCalFreelance]

I think the movie holds up today. The Nautilus Ship is one of the coolest concepts I've seen in movies.

[@jeffnettleton3858]

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.

[@liamboyle9199]

Man I loved this movie for some reason as a kid in the early 2000s😂

[@deanrussell2224]

I love this movie - Connery is great even tho he doesn’t want to be - it’s epic 👍

[@ProfessorKenneth]

Another good review mate. Dorian is a great creepy story. One of my favourites.👍🏻

[@bernadmanny]

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.

[@jamesabernethy7896]

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.

[@charenzo95]

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.

[@matthewfunk6435]

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 😂

[@alyzu4755]

"Electric Boogaleague" 🤣🤣🤣

[@lougait4362]

If they remake this now, they would add steam boat Willie :)

[@Gary-zq3pz]

A vastly entertaining dumpster fire that's gloriously BAD, and damn proud of it!!

[@jameswalker5796]

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.

[@rosswieloch1115]

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.

[@TheBeird]

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.

[@jonathanstempleton7864]

"This is a local shop for local people. We'll have no trouble here!"

[@frankandstein8618]

Thank you, Stam.

[@DerekNewtonKeswick]

This should have been a good movie. The premise and cast are really good.

[@angbald]

The fact that this links to my one of my favorite dr who episodes makes me sad.

[@thefonzkiss]

What a nonsensical comment.

[@matthewronson5218]

I love this flick, extraordinarily. What a fun romp. I wish they'd have completed the next installment as they had planned.

[@StruStru2k]

6:48 Ofc the invisible man/van gogh actor also played a role in TV's Elementary as the father of Moriarty's child

[@andrewmurray1550]

"mr Watermaine, your alias for this mission will be Bond, James Bond.".

[@matthewkugel6237]

Three Things: 1. Love your stuff. 2. When this movie came out I didn’t think much of it. But I found over the years, whenever this was broadcast on TV, I'd stop and watch. Turns out I really like this movie. My take's been that it's a middling movie that, when added all up, is pretty entertaining. Plus, i think it mostly looks great. I love all the production design on display. It's a feast for the eyes. 3. I also love Van Helsing (2004), mostly for the same reasons. So, There’s that.

[@bluewinds10]

This looks quite good, I might see if I can rent this on VHS from my local video store.

[@BTScriviner]

Try Blockbuster. I hear they rent tapes.😂

[@leafcatcher1715]

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.

[@chainsawsubtlety9828]

I would pay a King's Ransom for an immortal left knee.

[@Monkofmagnesia]

I actually liked the movie and even purchased the DVD.

[@torchwood00]

The League of Extraordinary Sliders

[@Gzeebo]

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.

[@RetroRobotRadio]

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!

[@willowwookie9614]

Watch this recently again and it was more entertaining than i remember

[@andrewwalsh5366]

Great movie

[@jimmyowens758]

I guess they got the sample from Connery's beard.

[@dockaos924]

Watched it a couple of times it's anenjoyable romp😊

[@markwilliams2620]

The _Nautilus_ moving at 100 knots. The _League_ standing on the open deck with a slight breeze. 🤦

[@RictusHolloweye]

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).

[@tskmaster3837]

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."

[@MrPleers]

That comic is great. Also the seconds book. Where Hyde eats a Martian.

[@rotterdammer5243]

Huh....I actually enjoyed this flick. I`m a sucker for comics and the story is`nt too bad. Thanks again for the review.

[@uniktbrukernavn]

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.

[@FatNorthernBigot]

I quite enjoyed it, at the time. "Crap" does not always mean boring.

[@anthonysaturno8265]

I also love this movie

[@powerbomb4833]

Hope you also do videos on From Hell (2001), V for Vendetta (2005) and Constantine (2005)

[@chessoc7799]

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 :)

[@gfdggdfgdgf]

I think this is a really enjoyable movie and it had a great DVD release at the time. It was only years later I found out this is not exactly a well regarded movie.

[@Gappasaurus]

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 ☹️

[@Scimarad]

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.

[@Halbared]

The book was amazing.

[@organicketchup5171]

'Van Helsing' is great fun, man. I don't know what you're on about.

[@carlosbfly]

I rewatched this literally two weeks ago and thought it was okay. Far from a classic but a cool idea that was watchable.

[@wongjefx980]

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.

[@user-ch1by3th8s]

II: Electric Boogaleague.

[@usedscar]

I enjoyed this review a lot. I'm going back over all your videos. They are very satisfying! Would you ever do Kung Fu? My fave 70s show Grasshopper.

[@StamFine]

Kung Fu will be covered at some point.

[@usedscar]

@@StamFine I'll look forward to it.

[@ace15Nura]

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.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Dr. Jekyll is a public domain Hulk.

[@6581punk]

Not to be confused with the League of Gentlemen which is supposed to be funny. People seem to get the names mixed up.

[@jeffnettleton3858]

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.

[@neohermitist]

I have to agree 100% with this review. I've watched this movie a few times, always hoping it would be better on the next viewing and always being disappointed. That feeling of disappointment comes right at the plot twist reveal. Maybe if I just stop the movie when they get to Venice, I'd be happy with it. This movie has a similar feel to Armagedon to me with scenes and events going on with a frenzy that that is really off putting.

[@RictusHolloweye]

I gave it a second watching, back in the day, just to see if it was as bad as my first impression. It was. I agree that it's the plot twist that signals the downward spiral. I wasted precious moments questioning why M would bring all these heroes together if he just wanted their individual samples. Who could have guessed that uniting a group of heroes could lead to them thwarting the villain?! This pointlessness was only outdone by Suicide Squad where a group of villains is assembled and... oh no, one of the villains has become the movie's main villain!

[@RighteousBrother]

I didn't mind it in a Doug McClure wet Saturday afternoon type of way

[@nutherefurlong]

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

[@Joshcarsandcollectibles]

But who doesn’t want Dorian’s library?

[@Mattmurdockk431]

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.

[@CaptCutshaw]

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.

[@TheDrugOfTheNation]

An anti-piracy technique involving a pattern of dots periodically appearing in a corner of the screen was used for this on its initial release. I don't know if the *everyone's* sounds of pain in the cinema was caused by this, but mine were. I wonder if this had a subconscious effect on its reputation.

[@robvegas9354]

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.

[@funkyflicksfilmreviews1535]

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.

[@thanksfernuthin]

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.

[@ToumalRakesh]

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.

[@zeroman614]

I heard Connery gave his agent the back of his hand after this bombed.

[@andrewthornley5172]

I actually liked this movie.

[@bob23301]

I quite enjoy this movie, and i also enjoyed the Avengers tv show movie. Lol

[@calvinlweir2795]

I still like ie. It was funny.

[@samhianblackmoon]

🔥👍🏽

[@neohermitist]

One thing Van Helsing has got going for it are the mega hottie brides of Dracula.

[@bryanquick16]

The movie that retired Sean Connery

[@blindguygamer]

I didn't think it was thaat bad. But I did sit through the Star Wars Holiday Special so...

[@sebastiansochanski]

👌

[@megatronjenkins2473]

(feeds the almighty Algorithmo)

[@markeastwood74]

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. 😯🙁😟😤🚫💩

[@Halbared]

Aw, And like Van Helsing.

[@SurlyInsomniac]

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.

[@damienkakoschke3099]

I'll say here what I say to anyone about this film, read the comic instead. (or watch the TV series Penny Dreadful).

[@alanhouston5874]

Suprise Sherlock Holmes and Robin Hood weren’t along for the ride Actually, Sherlock Holmes could have added something, especially as Moriarity is there

[@FraserJWhieldon]

I don't get the criticism of the twist?

[@alanhouston5874]

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

[@BellsCuriosityShop]

Dunno. I quite liked it. Hadn't read the graphic novels, despite being an avid comic reader well into adulthood.

[@KJ-of6lf]

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.

[@jamstonjulian6947]

Something about this movie feels so hollow

[@alyzu4755]

Yes! That's the perfect description.

[@ClydeRowing]

Was that terry o neil as Ishmael?

[@NieR.Amanda]

In the future can we look forward to the League of Copyright-Struck KZbinrs?

[@HoboMerlin]

Wha...what are you? I'm complicated.

[@testdep]

I enjoyed this movie back in 2000s and thank you for reminding me about this, I would gladly re-watch it today. It's far from being perfect but compared to the _modern_ movies this one is easily a masperpiece, an artefact of the bygone era. Oh I remember just loving the style of this movie, esp captain Nemo and his ship!