A mysterious leader who resides in England in 1899 and is simply called “M” (Richard Roxburgh) believes that the security of the world is in jeopardy from the dastardly intentions of “The Fantom,” who wants to set nation against nation to create lucrative markets for the new weapons of mass destruction he has created. Part of this villain’s plan is to sabotage an upcoming conference of world leaders in Venice. He has already used a futuristic armored tank to rob the Bank of England and has plenty of money to finance his diabolical schemes. M calls together a band of superheroes to stop him — The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, which interestingly enough, includes one woman.
He chooses Allan Quatermain (Sean Connery), famous for having discovered King Solomon’s Mines, to lead the group. This mastermind has a penchant for guns and possesses a super-duper rifle that can bring down a target at 400 yards. Although Quartermain is at first hesitant to take on another mission for Queen and Country, he is convinced to do so when an assassination team sent by the Fantom tries to take him out, killing many of his friends along the way. Arriving in London, the only chink in his armor is guilt over the untimely death of his son on one of his adventures.
Quartermain meets the other volunteers for the League: Captain Nemo (Naseeruddin Shah), a scientist, inventor and freedom fighter; Mina Harker (Peta Wilson) a Dracula vampiress and shape-shifter who possesses incredible strength and formidable paranormal powers; Rodney Skinner (Tony Curran), an invisible man who makes an excellent thief; Dr. Jekyll (Jason Flemyng) and his beast within, Mr. Hyde, a giant killing machine of brute force; and the legendary Dorian Gray (Stuart Townsend), an immortal man who is impervious to all attempts to kill him. The final member of the team is given the okay by Quartermain. He is Sawyer (Shane West), an American secret service agent whose youthful energy and enthusiasm make him an invaluable addition to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
These colorful characters, all originally from literature, are the most interesting parts of this action adventure drama. It's fun to watch them work together on a mission when clearly their natural impulse would be to operate alone. One of them does just that, and it is up to Quartermain to discover the traitor.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is based on comic books by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill. Director Stephen Norrington puts the main emphasis upon special effects sequences, but unfortunately, these are not particularly impressive given the glut of recent movies all emphasizing the same leaping, kicking, and flying-through-the-air physical battles. The "Hyde" monster, at least, looks more convincing that "The Hulk." The best moments in this flick are when each character gets to demonstrate his or her unique superhuman abilities. And although we were glad to see everything work out in the end here, we found ourselves fondly remembering the antics of the nutty wannabe superheroes in Mystery Men and especially their use of nonviolent weapons.
