Legion

If you were to ask me, 'Is Legion a good film?' I would have to reply a resounding 'No.' However, that flies (like an angel?) in the face of the fact that I originally hired it, then bought it on DVD and have subsequently watched it a few times since. What can I say... I clearly have little taste in films! Sometimes you don't want DeNiro's excellent acting ability, or Christopher Nolan's tales of head-scratching, mind-bending concepts. You'll even forfeit decent dialogue and little character development for simple shooting monsters with big guns. And this is what you get right here.

Basically, God himself is disillusioned with the human race and decides it's time to get rid of them (and kill a baby while he's at it). However, God's top angel (played by Paul Bettany) says 'No way!' and decides to save this special child and, while he's at it, all of us mortals. Now, if this sounds like a feat that couldn't possibly be crammed into just an hour and a half, it all takes place in a restaurant by a freeway in the middle of the desert. Our - sort of - winged hero has to help a band of human survivors fend off wave after wave of (fallen?) angels until the child is born.

It's basically a 'siege' movie. Think 'Assault on Precinct 13' but with monsters attacking those held up in a small, barricaded dwelling. There's nothing more grandiose than that, so if that's the sort of low-brow film you want to watch at the end of a long day's work then you should get what you're looking for. There's plenty of action and shoot-outs and for what it is it's not bad. Just don't go expecting anything too deep and dramatic and you won't be disappointed. Oh and Dennis Quaid is also in it - he tries to act his best with the script he's been given and occasionally comes close to succeeding. But then another battle comes along and you end up losing another extra in a hideous way possible.

It's not amazing, but then I don't think it ever tries to be. Know what it is and keep your expectations low. Don't worry, there's plenty of time to check your smartphone during the lulls in the action. You won't miss a thing.

Enjoying this movie might enrage God more than anything that happens in it .. but seriously though (and hopefully you are not offended), this movie is illogical and has quite a few clichés going for it. You might see where it is going (or "staying" if you will) and you might not like quite a few reveals or the ending. But the good thing about it is, you can sit back and enjoy it, without having to think about certain story related problems or continuity and other stuff.

Of course if you were to use your brain while watching this, one of the things you'd notice, is the fact that Dennis Quaid seems to have a bad choice of movie roles lately. "Bad" if you consider what he is capable of and what he ends up playing (this might actually take under 10% of his abilities to pull it off). But then again, you shouldn't care. You also shouldn't care too much about cardboard cut outs presented as "characters". But if you do, this is were I warned you. Which is more of a warning then someone else gave before unleashing ... but you know the rest or are about to see the rest.

The Prophecy is still the better movie (first one), but for a quick and fun movie, you can always rely on the action on hand here (which is shot very nicely)

Legion is actually a pretty good movie. I had low expectations when I got this film on DVD. The trailers also looked somewhat lame. I only saw this because two of my best friends recommended it to me. Well, I'm glad they did. I actually thought this was going to be a straight up horror movie but it isn't. I'm not a big fan of horror movies. This is more like a action/fantasy movie.

Basically this is another movie about the Apocalypse. God is not happy with the way humans are behaving so he sends an army of angels to wipe out human civilization. But there is one rebellious angel who declares his protection of a mother who is carrying a child who is deemed to be the savior of all mankind.

I am a big fan of Paul Bettany. I have seen almost all his movies and I pretty much liked all of them. My favorite scene from this movie is the grandma scene. I thought that was hilarious.

Overall, this is a great movie. By the way, I'm a religious person and I don't believe this film at all. Some commenters say this is propaganda. This is just a movie that will entertain. I rate this film 9/10.

Legion is about the apocalypse and one fallen angel who tries to save the last hope for humanity. With such a high concept, it's weird how it's actually taking place in a rather constrained space : a truck diner lost in an American desert. My first impression was that the special effects looked cheap (witness the first human transformation and the way "it" talks while barely moving its mouth). It's an impression that stayed with me throughout until perhaps the final antagonist. My second impression was that the acting wasn't that bad. I didn't recognize the actor playing the main angel character (Paul Bettany) until the day after while reading the credits. He's not one we usually see as an action hero in this kind of flick but he gave a decent performance as the strong stoic type. I also remembered Lucas Black (playing Jeep : what a lousy character's name) from the time he was a talented child actor. He still is. We also have the ever reliable Dennis Quaid in a supernatural thriller yet again.

My third impression was that the little old lady (seen in previews) reminded me of the crazy old gypsy woman from "Drag me to Hell". It's no wonder she's shown in previews, it's one of the best moments. However it spoils the surprise. My fourth impression was that following the granny, the "possessed" people were rather slow, stupid and not particularly menacing, very much like zombies even though they were not. My fifth impression was that at least the filmmakers were trying to achieve character moments instead of tiring us out with incessant action. My sixth impression ,after the film, was that considering the origin of the possessed humans and the objective desired, it was really ridiculous and unbelievable to proceed that way especially considering the supposedly superior intelligence at work. My last impression is that although it's certainly watchable as a distraction, it's not really effective or a particularly good film in the genre despite the "angels", seldom seen in features these days. Don't watch "Legion" expecting a big-budget epic fantasy, it's more like an intimate, closed space, last stand b-movie thriller without that many thrills.

Rating: 5 out of 10 for mediocre

P.S. Don't watch it expecting a "legion" of "angels" either. You would be disappointed.

Legion (2010) Directed by: Scott Stewart Starring: Paul Bettany, Lucas Black, Adrianne Palicki, Charles S. Dutton, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Durand, and Dennis Quaid

When God loses faith in Mankind, Archangel Michael (Bettany) loses his faith in God. An out- of-the-way diner becomes an unlikely battleground for the survival of humankind as Michael and a group of strangers defend themselves against God's legion of angels. Michael must protect a mother (Palicki) and her baby, for it is the key to ending the Apocalypse. Let me start off by saying that Legion is not a good movie, however, it is not terrible by any means. Unlike recent biblical horrors (The Unborn comes to mind), Legion tries very hard not to follow the lame clichés of recent horrors; I always commend a film for trying to be good. Unfortunately, it takes itself a little to seriously with God's legion of zombies that are supposed to be possessed by angels. The film also was terribly written, ("What's your beef?" "Simmer down!" "Hold on white boy") with weird scenes that needed some serious editing. Besides the bad script and erratic editing, the acting was terrible. The only exceptions were Paul Bettany (who seemed to have flown into the wrong movie) and Lucas Black (Sling Blade, Friday Night Lights). Everyone else was uninspired and made the bad screenplay look much more terrible than it was. The action scenes are where this film soared. The fight between the two Archangels was incredible, and the visual effects were on par. Overall, Legion is a biblical Assault on Precinct 13. It lacks a good script, editing, cinematography, and acting. I commend it for trying to be less like recent horror films that really shouldn't even call themselves 'films". I think deep down, on the cutting room floor, there was something there, but we don't see it. Legion is by no means horrible, but I can't recommend it.

Rating: 5/10