5.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.1 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.7 |
A hunter, a scientist, a vampiress, an invisible man, an immortal, a spy, a beast...when a masked madman known as "The Fantom" threatens to launch global Armageddon, legendary adventurer Allan Quatermain commands a legion of superheroes, the likes of which mankind has never seen. Now, despite fighting their own personal demons - and each other - they mush join forces to save the world.
Starring: Sean Connery, Naseeruddin Shah, Peta Wilson, Tony Curran, Stuart TownsendAction | 100% |
Fantasy | 45% |
Sci-Fi | 43% |
Comic book | 30% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.36:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
English, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The Empire is in peril.
What a fascinating concept. Based on a short-lived comic book series of the same name, The
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen creates a band of superheroes from famed characters
from late 19th century literature. Each brings a unique ability to the table, and turning
characters who are oftentimes curiosities of fine literature into superheroes is a smart idea and
potentially interesting. Indeed, words like "concept" and "potential" are crucial when discussing
the 2003 film adaptation of these comic book series. Directed by Stephen Norrington
(Blade), whose career as a director seems to have come to an abrupt halt after the
release of this film, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a case study for how a fine
concept with plenty of potential fails to live up to even moderate standards. This movie is by no
means "bad," it simply exhibits several shortcomings that make it somewhat of a drag,
particularly in between the action sequences, which themselves are not all that interesting. With
a decent ensemble cast and plenty of loud action, movie fans looking for background noise might
find The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen to their liking, but if you are in the mood for
action, there are plenty of other movies out there that will satiate your appetite far better than
this one.
The name's Bond, James Bon . . . no, I'm Captain Ramius, and . . . Dr. Henry Jones? Who the devil am I in this movie?
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen gathers on Blu-ray with a 1080p high definition, 2.35:1 framed transfer that is as bleak and uninteresting as the visual style of the movie itself. This is a solid enough transfer, but none of its attributes come across as overly impressive. It's rather bland as far as Blu-ray releases go, which still means it blows every DVD out of the water and looks better than many other high definition discs, but among the elite on the format it is not. The vast majority of the movie takes place in dark, moderately lit interiors, and as such, black levels and shadow detail become crucial to creating a good transfer. Both are acceptable, but not superb. Also, the image falters somewhat by becoming soft in places with little in the way of extraordinary detail or clarity in either the foreground or the background. Flesh tones appear accurately rendered throughout, however. While no print damage was noticed, there is a bit of grain here and there, but its presence is minimal and certainly not distracting. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is one of the least impressive offerings from Fox, but considering the rather dark and dreary nature of the movie, there probably isn't a whole lot that can be done to improve on this one. It's still an average at best high definition experience.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen explodes onto Blu-ray with a powerful and exciting DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless surround sound track. The sound throughout the entire movie is engaging with terrifically powerful and rumbling lows, perfectly placed discrete effects, and plenty of surround activity to put a huge grin on your face, and to reassure your sensibilities as to why you purchased your surround set-up. It takes absolutely no time to become enthralled in this mix. Gunshots ring out all across the soundstage, impacting surfaces all around us. A tank rumbles through the streets causing crashes and devastation to great effect both in the movie and through our listening areas. This one is not just all about crazy action, however. In addition to well-placed dialogue that never presents any volume or clarity issues, there is a nice atmosphere created in many scenes. Check out the scene where we are introduced to Quatermain in Africa. There is solid ambience in the form of chirping insects, chatter, and the sounds of dishes and silverware being used and carried to and fro over in the background. Immediately afterwards, a shootout features all the same fine attributes mentioned above: gunfire in every corner of your listening room, solid bass, and a plenty of excitement. The sound of the Nautilus rising from below the surface is another amazing sonic achievement as the water falling off its hull returns to Earth all around us, and a rumble accompanies its rise. Where The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen unequivocally succeeds is in its sound design. It's loud but still clear, powerful but still precise, and engaging but still natural. This lossless track recreates the experience rather well, and would serve as a solid demo disc for discrete effects and gunfire.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen arrives on Blu-ray with a few scattered supplements, highlighted by the inclusion of two commentary tracks. The first features producers Don Murphy and Trevor Albert, and actors Shane West, Jason Flemyng, and Tony Curran. The nasally Murphy leads the track, discussing the cuts made to ensure a PG-13 rating, a discussion of character motivations, changes from comic to film, the pointing out of various effects shots, and occasionally simply discussing the action on-screen. The rest of the participants play second fiddle in this generally dry commentary track. The second track features costume designer Jacqueline West, visual effects supervisor John E. Sullivan, make-up effects supervisor Steve Johnson, and miniatures creator Matthew Gratzner. As expected, this is a more technical commentary that actually manages to be drier than the previous offering. West offers the most interesting comments with regards to the costuming in the film. It's amazing to hear how much planning and work goes into something as seemingly simple as costuming, although her swooning over how good the actors look in the costumes becomes annoying. A Trivia Track is also included on this disc, and is best watched over one of the commentary tracks. Popping up randomly, a small text box offers some solid tidbits but nothing you cannot live without. LXG: Shooting Gallery is a fun enough game that lets you blast away at bad guys with your remote control over one of the film's action sequences. Finally, 1080p trailers for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, The Transporter 2, The Transporter, Planet of the Apes, Phone Booth, Kiss of the Dragon, and Behind Enemy Lines round out this array of extra materials.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is an action movie with the potential to be so much more. Unfortunately, it wanders too much and never settles into a rhythm, leaving too many interesting characters underdeveloped and mismanaged. Even the action is ho-hum, and while bland action is usually the perfect medicine for the rainy Saturday doldrums, what we have here is too choppy for even that purpose. 20th Century Fox's Blu-ray presentation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is, like the movie, a mixed bag. Sporting average video, a superb sound mix, and only a handful of supplements, the disc really isn't worth buying for any other reason than the soundtrack, but equally good (and better) tracks are out there in abundance, and attached to better movies to boot. Worth a rental for the curious.
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