Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'

Written by Scott Edwards

Being blessed with special abilities is one thing that we all have. It does not matter if it is a super power or not, we all have that one thing that makes us special, but what really matters is if we are willing to use it. As the years pass and we refine our skills, it may be the only thing that defines us as an individual and it may lead to people asking us for our expertise. 

Allan Quatermain is now retired from his specialty, but a master hunter may only prefer to be left alone rather than give up his trade. When a new threat has unleashed itself in Great Britain, the Crown comes calling for Quatermain’s expertise once again. Although he has given too many years to the service and lost many of his loved ones in the process, he joins the crusade against evil once again.

The Phantom is bringing terror upon the country by kidnapping all of the greatest minds to create weapons that will bring forth the First World War.  So an idea is formed and a team is assembled to take down this new threat before it can change the world as we know it. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is formed with Allan Quatermain leading a group of men and women that have their own extraordinary talents and he is joined by Captain Nemo, Dr. Jekyll along with his inner beast, Mr. Hyde, Mina Harker, the wife of Dr. Van Helsing’s partner, Rodney Skinner also known as the Invisible Man and the ageless Dorian Gray. 

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With the team assembled, the Phantom makes his intentions known for the future of the world.  With all of their abilities, The League must come together and utilize all of their talents to stop the madman. As their hunt is met with several roadblocks, the group is only focused on one thing, to save the world. But the Phantom has another plan of which he did not divulge to the group; he wants to gather these special people in one place, and steal their talents to unleash a more dangerous threat upon the world.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen follows the last hunt of Allan Quatermain as he is put in charge of a group of people with extra ordinary talents. Having to convince them all to work together as a team, Quatermain has to face his past head on as he has outlived all of his loved ones. Having many different abilities at their disposal, The League is faced with not only the threat of what the Phantom promises to bring to the world, but a traitor among them that can sabotage their entire mission. As the group comes together, they also push themselves apart and must be joined by a common cause other than the impending end of the world as they know it. 

This is a movie that was far ahead of its time, since comic book movies were not being eaten up yet upon its release and it features a fantastic group of literary characters that were not combined into the same story until the late nineties. With a scientist vampire, an invisible thief, a master hunter, a pirate who knows more about technology than anyone, a loner that can turn into a Wildman-beast, an immortal that keeps his secrets hidden from the world in a painting and an emerging secret service agent, there is little that this movie did wrong. With great characters all battling the evil in front of them, along with their inner demons, it is great seeing some of my favorite literary characters come to life and use their special skills to save the world, rather than benefit themselves. Happy viewing.

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