Don't Encourage Us
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: The Avengers Before Anyone Was Ready for It
Episode Summary
New format: Defend Yourself — we put a film fan on trial. First up: 2003's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, a favorite of our host, and Sean Connery's last film. Seven literary characters from Verne, Wilde, Stevenson, Stoker, Twain, Wells, and Doyle assembled into a team superhero film a decade before the Avengers. Same formula — mix supernatural and super-science, recruit mismatched heroes, storm the villain's base. So why did one make a billion dollars and the other end a career? We argue it comes down to priming: the MCU spent six origin films making audiences care about each character before assembling them. League tried to skip that step by relying on novels most of the audience hadn't read since high school. With guest Matt Baughman prosecuting and the host defending, we break down the writing, the action, the production design, the behind-the-scenes editing disaster, and whether this IP deserves a reboot.
Episode Notes
Guest: Matt Baughman
Format: Defend Yourself — our trial format where one host defends a film against the others.
Topics discussed:
- The proto-Avengers argument: same team superhero formula, a decade too early
- Why assembling proven literary IP doesn't work if the audience hasn't read the source material
- The editing disaster: 10-12 setups per scene, Connery taking over the final cut
- Production design as comic book exaggeration: Venice, London, Africa, the Nautilus
- The Moriarty exposition scene: villain reveals done right
- Mina Harker as a vampire: why the adaptation choice works if you know Dracula
- Public domain characters and how the film used them vs. how the MCU built origin films
- Sean Connery turning down Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, and Harry Potter for this
- What a League reboot or series would look like today
- Fantasy casting: Tom Holland as Tom Sawyer, Florence Pugh as Mina Harker
- The orca update: it's not trauma, it's a game (marine biology lecture recap)
- Road House 2024: why it's an abomination
- Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire brief review and the $25 ghost trap popcorn bucket
Source material: