League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The (2003)
Cast: Sean Connery, Naseeruddin Shah, Peta Wilson, Stuart Townsend
Director: Steve Norrington
Synopsis: Group of unlikely allies, led by Connery, battle to save the world from destruction
Reviewed by: Ali Khan

It’s the turn of the 19th century and a masked mastermind is bent upon sparking a world wide war and then benefiting from it through the sale of arms. It is up to the League – a group of unlikely allies led by legendary ‘adventurer’ Alan Quatermain - to try and prevent the mayhem.

Its not a novel idea but the unusual individuals comprising the League make for a really quite interesting premise. The group consists of characters drawn from famous works of literature. So we have Alan Quatermain (Connery) of Solomon’s Mines’ fame, still living in Africa in semi-retirement but being persuaded to take on the mantle of team leader. He is assisted by Captain Nemo (Naseeruddin Shah) whose famous ship the Nautilus is wonderfully realised though Jules Verne’s Nemo has been transformed into an Indian ‘ex’-pirate. Also along for the ride are the Invisible man, Mina Harker (from Bram Stoker’s Dracula and now transformed into a vampire of sorts), Dr. Jekyll and his alter ego Mr. Hyde and somewhat curiously Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray and Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer.

The film, along with its premise, starts imaginatively – director Steve Norrington (who made the sleeper hit Blade) brings a gothic darkness to the early scenes in England, Paris and Venice. The characters are introduced and the audience is given a taste of their unique background and resulting skills. Dorian Gray is an indestructible, immortal so long as his portrait remains unharmed but there is an ambivalence to his character as there is in the case of the Invisible Man. Mina Harker clearly succumbed to Dracula’s curse though she manages to look at herself in the mirror and roam around in the sunlight – both no-nos for orthodox vampires. Jekyll and Hyde battle for supremacy while Nemo commands an army of Indian sailors and the latest technology. Quartermain and the American Tom Sawyer bond and their relationship – old mentor from the Empire whose best times are behind him to young apprentice from the New World - is a reflection of times to come where the baton of world ascendancy passes from Britain to America.

Sadly instead of the film taking off from this promising platform it falters and stutters very quickly degenerating into a mass of contradictions and inexplicable and pointless action sequences. It is almost as if Norrington suddenly decided to abandon all attention to plot development and instead concentrate solely on visual thrills and increasingly frenetic action. So we have a car chase through a crumbling Venice (the canals appear to have disappeared!) followed by a dash to the frozen landscape of Mongolia for more mayhem. It’s a sorry end to a film that promised much.

Norrington’s visual flair is clearly evident and he handles the early part of the film with a degree of skill. But it falls apart as soon as the flair overwhelms the story. The performances are adequate though Conerry’s Quartermain is somewhat overshadowed by his more interesting colleagues and Naseeruddin Shah is clearly constrained by a ridiculously fake beard. Although the film ends with the possibility of a sequel … I have my doubts.