A film about Victorian superheroes might have sounded good at the time, but "this mega-budget ($100+ million) adaptation of Alan Moore's fantastically gloomy graphic novel is a disastrous debacle", as far as our stunned reviewer was concerned. Still, there are plenty of DVD fans out there who'll relish the chance to let rip with the DVD release, which boasts a thunderous DTS sound mix. To that end you might as well stick to buying the cheaper single disc release as this double disc edition isn't any more features-packed than a dusty old book.

Commentaries But No Director

It's no secret that director Stephen Norrington and Sean Connery didn't get on, which perhaps explains why Norrington has no input anywhere on these two discs. It could also explain why this whole enterprise feels so hollow. Disc one comes with two audio commentaries which are made up of a mish mash of chat from the producers, support actors and effects supervisors. Boredom reigns supreme in their kingdom should you choose to subject your ears to it, with the exception of costume designer Jacqueline West. Not only can she make the assembly of clothes sound interesting, but she'll also fill you in on the wide range of sources that inspired the get-ups.

Third Time Unlucky

Disc two is unlikely to grace your DVD player for long. It's just about worth popping it in to hear Sean Connery in the 'making of' documentary try to explain why he's taken this film on. Grumpily he describes how he was offered roles in both The Lord Of The Rings and The Matrix but couldn't understand either of them! Equally he "didn't fancy" LXG but thought it time he accepted one of "these whiz bang movies".

Miniature Appeal

The special effects in the movie didn't wow many (or should that be any?) but a look behind the scenes of the miniature special effects is the highlight of disc two. You'll see such innovative toys as a model Nemo car with working individual puppets. Otherwise you can try plundering the deleted scenes for evidence of a better film (let's just say that Allan Quatermain would have trouble unearthing any treasure from this lot). This is a DVD of the extra ordinary, as opposed to extraordinary.

EXTRA FEATURES

This DVD was reviewed on a JVC XV-N5 DVD player.