Judging a Book by Its Cover - the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

The movie would have been better if it was actually based on the comic book. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is about just that: seven people, most from story books. The gentlemen are playing a superhero game and are trying to save the world. The gentlemen are led by Allan Quatermain, played by Sean Connery. The other Gentlemen include Dr. Jekyll (Jason Flemyng), Captain Nemo (Naseeruddin Shah), Rodney Skinner (Tony Curran), Dorian Grey (Stuart Townsend), Mina Parker (Peta Wilson) and, Tom Sawyer (Shane West). Where is Huck Finn? It was an interesting group to put together, since none of these men are actually heroes? The plot is pretty basic. Stop the bad guy, stop the world war. The simplistic plot ruined the movie, and the dialogue sucked.

The movie does have its appeal; it's magically delicious to mock the league. From Quaterman's leap from the 100 mile an hour car to ("look ma, no broken ankles!") to what has got to be the worst one-liner ever? For every one moment that managed to be Clever, I liked Nemo's first mate introducing himself by saying "Call me Ishmael". There are a hundred moments featuring some tacked on piece of plot that is barely suitable and never interesting. Nemo worships Kali, God of death! Yet he comes off as the nicest and most honorable member of the team. You are dealing with what should be a fascinating group of fictional characters, each filled with potential back story and in jokes. They did not get the obvious gag about Tom Sawyer tricking somebody into painting a fence. Mina Harker. Let's ignore for a moment the fact that the woman playing her can't act. She is also the most annoying character amongst them. No one wants to watch a Mr. Hyde that's gone all softie. No one believes in a grown-up Tom Sawyer. Stay with the characters. It works much better.

The real problem