The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film)

2003 film directed by Stephen Norrington

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a 2003 film based on the comic-book tales of Alan Moore of a rare group of legendary fictional heroes, each one usually a loner, who come together to save the world in 1899.

Then the game is on.
May this new century be yours, son, as the old one was mine.
Directed by Stephen Norrington.
Prepare for the Extraordinary. #taglines

Allan Quatermain

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  • If you can't do it with one bullet, don't do it at all.
  • Automatic rifles. Who in God's name has automatic rifles?
  • Very American. Fire enough bullets and hope to hit the target.
  • [About Hyde] That was naughty!
  • [teaching Tom to shoot] Take your time. [Tom shoots and misses] Too soon, but that was bloody close.
  • [Knocks out an enemy by smashing a liquor bottle on him; looks at the broken bottle] Wicked waste.
  • [He impales an enemy on the horn of a bull head on the wall. The Union Jack then drapes over the dead enemy] Rule Britannia.
  • [last words to Tom, as he's dying] May this new century be yours, son, as the old one was mine.

Tom Sawyer

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  • [after seeing Mina kill one of M's men] Boy. They told me European women had funny ways.
  • [Allan is teaching him to shoot from the deck of the Nautilus] Did you teach your son to shoot like this? [turns to see Allan has left]
  • We're alive. If M has any ideas to the contrary, that gives us an edge.

Dr. Henry Jekyll

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  • Dr. Jekyll, at your service, sir.
  • [As reflection, to Hyde] Bravo, Edward.
  • [To Hyde, the reflection] What are you talking about?!?
  • No! I will not let Hyde use me again!
  • Now lets not make a saint out of a sinner! Next time he may not be so helpful!
  • [To Nemo, Hyde just tried to strangle him] Your talk is all well and good, sir! But your own past is far from laudable! [leaves]

Edward Hyde

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  • Home. Home is where the heart is, that's what they say, and I have missed London so. Its sorrow is as sweet to me as a rare wine.
  • We can do it, Henry, together.
  • [To Sawyer, after he claims not to be afraid] YOU STINK OF FEAR!
  • [As Henry's reflection, while listening to M's and Dorian's message]:Turn it off, Henry... turn it off!!

Rodney Skinner

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  • Oh, chemist, eh? Do we get to blow something up, then?
  • [after groping Mina] I've been waitin'all week to do that!
  • [A note from the Nautili] 'Ello, my freaky darlings.
  • This is a charming spot. Does Jack the Ripper live here?
  • I'm feeling a bit of a draft in my nether regions. And I must say, it's quite refreshing.

Mina Harker

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  • Not Gray. He's lived long enough.
  • Save your bullets. These men are MINE!
  • [to Dorian Gray] You broke my heart once. This time you missed.

Dorian Gray

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  • I've lived long enough to see the future become history, Professor. Empires crumble. There are no exceptions.
  • I'm an immortal, sir, not a gazelle!
  • Sensors attached to bombs. Bomb voyage.
  • [to Mina after impaling her] I was hoping I'd get to nail you one last time...I didn't think it'd be literally.
  • [Fighting Mina, who is also immortal] We'll be at this all day.
  • [Mina has stabbed him in the groin] If that had been permanent, I would have been very upset!

M/The Fantom

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  • [to Gray] You think you're better than me. You forget: I've seen your painting.
  • [To Quatermain] Oh, and I'm scarred, Mr. Quatermain, not blind. Drop the gun.

Dialogue

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Karl Draper: (in German) What do you want?
The Fantom: The world, Herr Draper. I want the world.
[The Fantom is thrown a rocket launcher by one of his men]
Karl Draper: Are you crazy? This place is full of hydrogen gas!
The Fantom: Really? That's so frightening. [Fires the rocket at a zeppelin]

[After Allan reveals his identity to Reed]
Nigel: Shall I toddle off, then, Allan?
Allan Quatermain: Yes, of course, Nigel, toddle off.
Nigel: Toddling.

Sanderson Reed: There is great unrest. Countries set at each other's throats, baying for blood. It's a powder-keg. The trouble of which I speak could set a match to the whole thing: War.
Allan Quatermain: Wi-With whom, exactly?
Sanderson Reed: Everyone. A world war.
Allan Quatermain: And this notion makes you sweat?
Sanderson Reen: Heavens, man. Doesn't it you?
Allan Quatermain: This is Africa, dear boy. Sweating is what we do.
Sanderson Reed: Where is your sense of patriotism?
Allan Quatermain: [stands up with his drink] God save the Queen!
[the other patrons of the club mutter an apathetic return to the toast]
Nigel: God save her, Allan, God bless her.
Allan Quatermain: [to Reed] That's about as patriotic as it gets around here.
Sanderson Reed: But you're Allan Quatermain. Stories of your exploits have thrilled English boys for decades.
Allan Quatermain: That I know. And Nigel has done a grand job reminding me. But... with each past exploit I've lost friends, white men and black... and much more. And I'm not the man I once was.

Sanderson Reed: They're indestructible.
Allan Quatermain: No, just armor-plated.

Allan Quatermain: Automatic rifles. Who in God's name has automatic rifles?
Elderly Hunter: Dashed unsporting. Probably Belgian.

M: After Africa's veldts, London's climate isn't affecting your mood, I see...
Allan Quatermain: Identify yourself.
M: I am known by many names, Mr. Quatermain. My underlings call me Sir. My superiors call me M.
Allan Quatermain: M?
M: Just M.

Mina Harker: Am I late?
M: A woman's prerogative, Mrs Harker.
Allan Quartermain: Please tell me this is Harker's wife with a sick note.
Mina Harker: Sick would be a mild understatement. My husband's been dead for years.

Rodney Skinner (The Invisible Man): And they'll provide an antidote... well, that's if I'm a good boy.
Allan Quatermain: And are you a good boy?
Rodney Skinner (The Invisible Man): I guess you'll find out, won't you?

Captain Nemo: This is my first mate.
Ishmael: Call me Ishmael, please.

Nemo: We have trouble.
Hyde: Trouble? I call it sport.

Dr. Henry Jekyll: No. Hyde will never use me again.
Dorian Gray: Then what good are you?

Marksman #2: What are you?
Dorian Gray: I'm complicated.

Allan Quatermain: Ah, you're missing a picture, Mr. Gray.
Dorian Gray: And you don't miss a thing, do you, Mr. Quatermain?
Allan Quatermain: Oh, sometimes.

Allan Quatermain: Now, would you like to learn to shoot?
Tom Sawyer: I can already.
Allan Quatermain: Oh, I saw. Very American. Fire enough bullets and hope to hit the target.

Mina Harker: Nemo worships death. Are we sure we can trust him?
Allan Quartermain: He's not the one I'm worried about.

M: To that end, I set my wolf among you sheep.
Dorian Gray: Growl.

Tom Sawyer: [Skinner has been burnt by a flamethrower] Are you okay?
Rodney Skinner (The Invisible Man): That's the last time I play with matches!

Allan Quartermain: Chilao!
[a target is slung into the ocean. Sawyer hoists the elephant gun]
Allan Quartermain: Aim.
Tom Sawyer: That's easy.
Allan Quartermain: Adjust for wind and target movement.
Tom Sawyer: That's easy, too.
Allan Quartermain: Here's the part that's not. You have to feel the shot. Take your time with it. You have all the time you need. All the time in the world.

Captain Nemo: Contain your evil, Doctor. I'll not have the brute free upon my ship. Must I take drastic steps?
Dr. Henry Jekyll: I am in control.
Captain Nemo: I very much doubt it.
Dr. Henry Jekyll: Your talk is all well and good, sir... but your own past is far from laudable.

[Clanging metal sounds from inside Nautilus]
Tom Sawyer: What is it?
Captain Nemo: The sound of treachery.

Allan Quartermain: [after the exploration pod has been stolen] We can track it.
Captain Nemo: Track it? I intend to catch it!

Ishmael: Shall I wait, Captain?
Captain Nemo: No, bring my lady to me.

Edward Hyde: Yes, Henry. Look, but don't touch. That's your way.
Dr. Henry Jekyll: Just shut up. I won't be tricked again.
Edward Hyde: Tricked? You've known what I was about each time you drank the formula.
Dr. Henry Jekyll: Liar. I am a good man.
Edward Hyde: Who's lying now? You want it, even more than you want her.
Dr. Henry Jekyll: No.
Edward Hyde: You can't shut me out forever. Drink the elixir.
Dr. Henry Jekyll: No.
Edward Hyde: She barely even looks at you...
Dr. Henry Jekyll: Be quiet.
Edward Hyde: SHE LOOKED AT ME.

Ishmael: That Skinner's got a lot to answer for!
Dorian Gray: Not Skinner - me!
[raises his gun and shoots Ishmael]

Allan Quartermain: The Phantom is M. And the hunt is still on.
Dr. Henry Jekyll: What are you talking about?
Allan Quartermain: The Phantom is M. The same man who recruited us.
Dr. Henry Jekyll: [trying to examine Allan's wound] Let me see that.
[he is shrugged off]
Captain Nemo: But how?
Allan Quartermain: We'll get our answers. Where are the others?
Mina Harker: [entering] Dorian's missing in action. And Mr. Skinner must have fled when he realized we knew.
Allan Quartermain: [concerned] Sawyer?
Tom Sawyer: [entering with a bloody lip] He'll live to fight another day.
Mina Harker: [advances towards Tom, he draws back] Don't worry, I've had my fill of throats for this

Allan Quartermain: Well, we were the faster, but now we're the tortoise to his hare.
Dr. Henry Jekyll: So, we're done?
Tom Sawyer: No, we're alive. If M has any idea to the contrary, that gives us an edge.
Captain Nemo: The sea is vast, he could be anywhere.
Tom Sawyer: Yeah, well, I'm an optimist, now maybe that's a crime to you twisted so-and-so's but it keeps me from going crazy.
Mina Harker: Your optimism's out of place.
Tom Sawyer: You're wrong! Because we'll get out, man... at least, *I* will. That other agent I told you about... was my childhood friend. We were agents together until The Fantom shot him dead. Now you can be done, but I am not. I will avenge his death.
Dr. Henry Jekyll: It's not about any one of us, Tom. It's bigger than that.
Tom Sawyer: Yes, it is, Jekyll! The fate for the world is in our hands... the world! So M tricked you, he brought you all together and you walked straight into his trap. But the way that I see it, that's the part he did wrong... He brought you together.
Dr. Henry Jekyll: He has a point.
Allan Quartermain: And the boy becomes a man... perhaps a leader of men.
Mina Harker: And Women.

Allan Quatermain: I may have been overly rude earlier... when I called you a pirate.
Captain Nemo: And I may have been overly charitable... when I said I wasn't. But I try to live in the now... where the ghosts of old wrongs do not abide.

Allan Quatermain: I've had women along on past exploits, and found them to be, at best, a distraction.
Mina Harker: Do I distract you?
Allan Quatermain: My dear girl, I've buried two wives and many lovers... and I'm in no mood for more of either.
Rodney Skinner (The Invisible Man): You can send 'em my way.
Allan Quatermain: Skinner, shut up.

[Chasing Moriarty, Tom Sawyer bumps into an invisible man]
Tom Sawyer: Skinner? [to Quatermain] It's okay! It's Skinner! What the hell are you doing here?
Sanderson Reed: What makes you think I'm Skinner, huh?

Captain Nemo: [Seeing one of M's men who has taken a large amount of Hyde's formula] What is that thing?
Hyde: He's me on a bad day.

Phantom's Soldier: [To Nemo] Draw your pistol.
Captain Nemo: I walk a different path. [draws sword]

Dorian Gray: Ah. The bedroom, Mina. Does it give you memories? Or ideas?
Mina Harker: Ideas.

[She stabs him in the groin]

Dorian Gray: [gasping] If that had been permanent, I'd have been very upset!

M: I hope I've got your fire when I'm your age.
Allan Quatermain: You will not live beyond today. That I promise you.

Quotes about The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (film)

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  • I got offered The Lord of the Rings, and I turned it down because I didn’t understand it. I was offered The Matrix — twice — and I turned it down because I didn’t understand it. I don’t understand this movie, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to turn it down.
  • My first response to the script was that it was a bit far-out. But that never stopped me before. It didn’t stop me from doing Zardoz.
  • I don't really mind the movie's lack of believability. Well, I mind a little; to assume audiences will believe cars racing through Venice is as insulting as giving them a gondola chase down the White House lawn. What I do mind is that the movie plays like a big wind came along and blew away the script and they ran down the street after it and grabbed a few pages and shot those. Since Oscar Wilde contributed Dorian Gray to the movie, it may be appropriate to end with his dying words: "Either that wallpaper goes, or I do."
  • Of all the comic book properties eagerly purchased by studios following X-Men, Alan Moore's highly-acclaimed melding of Victorian adventure fiction and super-heroics was undoubtedly the most exciting. Teeming with inspired wit and invention, only a supreme effort could screw it up. "Prepare For The Extraordinary" screamed the presumptuous trailer. You should indeed - albeit, crushingly, an extraordinary display creative cowardice and mishandling. The drive to concoct a period X-Men results in a depressingly clumsy action movie, one which treats the audience's intelligence with infuriating contempt.
  • The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a gigantic missed opportunity. What could have been a fun adventure, something akin to The Mummy meets X-Men, is seriously botched by a hideously poor script, that's almost entirely made up of plot holes and implausibilities. This is a movie that actively seems to think that it's audience is stupid. Worse still, the acting is incredibly poor from nearly everyone except Jason Flemyng, who does a decent job as Jekyll and Hyde. Probably the worst part of the film, are the jaw-droppingly bad special effects, that would have been downright appalling in 2003, and a simply dire in 2012. If this is to be Connery's final live-action film, it's a sad way for a legendary actor to go out.

Taglines

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  • Prepare for the Extraordinary
  • The power of seven become a league of one
  • A Rogue. A Scientist. A Spy. A Hunter. A Vampire. A beast. An Immortal.
  • Waiting To Be Impressed? You're About To Be.
  • An Adventure in a League of Its Own
  • This summer, Join the League.

Cast

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