He wasn't.

"The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" -- or "LoEG," as it's known to fans -- is a lightning-paced period adventure, dotted with some off-hand literary references to coax a smile out of book-loving moviegoers.

Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill's celebrated comic book series is set in an alternative-world Victorian London. In it, legendary figures from 19th-century literature save the world from a robust assortment of bad guys.

"LoEG"gets off to a smart start with lots of blow-'em-up action and lots of Sean Connery. Connery plays African adventurer extraordinaire Allan Quartermain, who's quite happy in his gentleman's club in Kenya. But a power-hungry madman called the Fantom has been setting off explosions and the like to put England and the European nations at each other's throats. That way, he can ignite a world war and sell his advanced-tech weapons to the highest bidder.

So a representative of her Royal Majesty is sent to Africa to enlist Quartermain's help. "The Empire needs you," he implores.

"The question is, do I need the Empire?" Quartermain replies.

Nevertheless, when the mayhem hits his African turf, Quartermain agrees to round up several "singular individuals" at the behest of a mysterious patriot known only as M (Richard Roxburgh). Any parallels to the M who helps a certain James Bond are probably intentional.

The League's members are: Captain Nemo ("Monsoon Wedding's" Naseeruddin Shah), an Indian inventor with a shady past, from "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"; H.G. Wells' Invisible Man, now embodied by a Cockney thief (Tony Curran) with all the bluster of the Artful Dodger; Dorian Gray (Stuart Townsend), a delicious dandy, much like Oscar Wilde, who created him and his portrait; Mina Harker (Peta Wilson), a proper Victorian widow who's on more than just-friends terms with Count Dracula; and Dr. Henry Jekyll, aka, Mr. Edward Hyde (Jason Flemyng), an enterprising scientist who, with of a drop of his elixir, can transform himself into a raging Hulk-like creature. An uninvited but welcome addition is secret agent Tom Sawyer (Shane West), a sharpshooting American who grew up on the banks of the Mississippi with his pal, Huck Finn.

The picture dips a bit once the League is fully assembled and they take off for Venice to capture the Fantom before he can foil a multination conference that could avert war. However, the plot takes another twist that gives the film a potent second wind.

Director Stephen Norrington is best known for "Blade," a stomach-churning, blood-drenched thing that did have one thing going for it -- lots of atmosphere. There's plenty of atmosphere here, too. Plus, a playful script that incorporates some of the lighthearted panache of Richard Lester's "Musketeer" movies from the '70s. The film's look is brazenly baroque, with all kinds of Victorian filigree and oak-paneled libraries overflowing with books. Nemo's famed sub, Nautilus, is especially eye-catching.

Writer James Dale Robinson livens things up with a number of inventive character touches. Quartermain is still grieving for his son who was killed on one of his dad's more dangerous adventures. Mina is sexually aroused by the taste of blood. Jekyll/Hyde suffers from the mother of split personalities. Sawyer sometimes assumes the all-American stance of John Wayne, draping his rifle over his shoulders. Gray is always tossing off some bit of refined sarcasm.

Another wonderful thing about the League: They're all so very different that it's easy to pick a favorite out of the bunch. And, unlike the X-Men, they're not overpopulated. Speaking of the X-Men, compared to their movie, the special effects here are pretty cheesy. However, "LoEG" offers the kind of very special effect that can't be computer-generated. That is, a terrific ensemble cast of mostly British actors. Connery, of course, is the standout -- an aging lion in winter, still at the top of his game, even if he does need glasses to shoot down a man half a mile away.

However, even the mighty Connery can't keep the movie from being stolen by Townsend, who gets most of the best lines and certainly the best outfit (Ascot pearl gray). Townsend, who starred in the marvelous, but little-seen, "About Adam," neatly tucks the film into his elegant trouser pocket and walks off with it.

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