Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a look at the British comedy show turned movie THE LEAGUE OF GENTLEMEN'S APOCALYPSE from someone who has actually seen it! This is a head over heels review. Believe it if you want, don't if you don't. I know I'm excited to see the flick... especially after seeing the quad. Here's a link to the British poster!!!
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Now on with the fairly spoiler-free review (although there is some revelation of the plot of the movie, but nothing too specific)! Enjoy!
I thought you'd like to hear my thoughts on the first movie from the British TV series "The League of Gentlemen". I was invited to a press screening on Monday in central London, and sat in a tiny theatre at the very top floor of the VUE cinema. All four of the writers, three of which star in the film, were there, bravely splitting up so they could sit amongst the crowd. I've never been to one of these events before and so spent the time gawking at celebs such as Shaun Of the Dead director Edgar Wright, and film critic Mark Kermode.
As a humble "fan" of the show, I had my reservations about the film. It's often said that fans are the most critical of people, and normally we are. The third TV series from the League split "fandom" down the middle and there has always been a healthy amount of debate on even the most cherished of the League's output.
However, I unreservedly loved "Apocalypse" - so much that it's hard to be in any way objective. It's a shame that the next previews of the film aren't until the end of May (the film is on general release in the UK from 3rd June) and so I won't get an opportunity for a second viewing any time soon.
Firstly, the film is very funny. Yes, the plot is clever, sometimes challenging. But the script is so tight, so witty, that it draws in people who've not had any previous exposure to the show. If you are a fan though, you are taken to the next level - to a myriad of in-jokes and references that would make Joss Whedon envious.
The central conceit is that the writers of the League of Gentlemen (with the non-acting writing played by a proper actor, Michael Sheen) have actually got bored with the series and want to write something new. We are asked to sympathise with the fictional alternative reality of the show, which is thrown into chaos, even Apocalypse, by the casual dismissal of the writers. The "big name" characters (Tubbs and Edward, Papa Lazarou, Pauline, Chinnery) are used sparingly and skilfully, leaving three characters (Geoff, Herr Lipp and Hilary Briss) to shoulder the film. The writers then appear, playing a distorted version of themselves, so they can face their character's wrath.
All this, I knew before even setting foot in the cinema. What I didn't realise was how fast paced it way, how funny it would be, and how utterly faithful the film is to the tone of the best of the TV series - dark, off-centre comedy with intelligence and warmth - sympathetic grotesque characters who somehow make you *care*. It somehow manages to hit all the right marks - the homages to classic films and tv that don't intrude on the storyline. And the plot is engrossing - whizzing along and pulling you with it.
I emerged from the tiny, packed theatre, almost stumbling into the League of Gentlemen themselves in the cramped corridor, wondering if Apocalypse is the best thing they've ever done. Two days later, I still think it is.
--Tara Alexander, Lincolnshire, England.
