The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was low-key my favorite movie of 2003. To be fair, I was 12 years old when I first saw it in theaters and I had yet to discover the sophisticated world of Lost in Translation or artsier action flicks a la Kill Bill. But after seeing the garbage that was Ben Affleck's Daredevil and that Eric Bana Hulk (the WORST of all Hulks) earlier that year, my pre-teen mind tickled with excitement at the thought of a GANG of superhero types working together against a common enemy. It did not disappoint. It's been 12 years since the film's release, and Variety reports that Fox is now rebooting the movie (based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill); I can't help but be tickled again.
If you disagree with me and think the 2003 League movie was absolute shit, you're in the majority. I admit it. The Stephen Norrington-directed film received a 17% on Rotten Tomatoes and a one-star rating from Roger Ebert, who said it was littered with "incomprehensible action, idiotic dialogue, inexplicable motivations, causes without effects, effects without causes, and general lunacy." It ended Sean Connery's career (though let's be real, he retired because he was old), and the director never directed another movie again. It's notoriously known as a career killer.
But hear me out: the film, despite its incomprehensible action and idiotic dialogue or whatever, is actually fun. After several viewings of it—yes, SEVERAL, and all voluntary—I'm still fond of this movie. There's action, there's steamy romance, and I'd like to think the "idiotic dialogue" is part of the comic relief. (See Dorian Gray's line: "I hoped I'd get to nail you one more time. Didn't think it'd be literally.) Though widely considered a flop, the movie grossed $179,465,204 worldwide on a $78 million budget, which actually isn't too shabby. Was it a cinematic masterpiece? Hell no. Does it have cult probability? I sure hope so.
I'm a firm believer that Sean Connery has never been bad in anything, and that applies here, too. Stuart Townsend delivered the best on-screen Dorian Gray to date—brooding and cocky, yet charming—balanced by classic American boy Tom Sawyer (Shane West) and the mischievous Invisible Man (Tony Curran). Naturally, my favorite member of the gang has always been Mina Harker, who comes from the world of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Not at all an extraordinary gentleman, she proved to be the most extraordinary of them all, combining her scientific skills as a chemist with her badass, blood-sucking vampiric sensibilities. (My biggest gripe with this franchise is its title, to be honest.) And personally, this movie meant a lot to me, because in the middle school/high school phase of my life, it introduced me to the world of Victorian novels (and, erm, Tom Sawyer). To this day, the idea of mashing up these literary worlds thrills the bookish part of me.
Though League failed to launch as a TV series a couple years ago, the big-screen remake sounds promising. So far there is no director or cast attached to it, but John Davis (I, Robot, Predator) will be producing. For most viewers, it'll likely be better than the original film. For me? I'm interested to see how they'll top the first one. In the meantime, do yourself a favor and rewatch The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
