Légion

God has lost faith in man and he sends his legion of angels to bring on the Apocalypse. Archangel Michael (Paul Bettany) comes down to Earth to stop it. Jeep Hanson (Lucas Black) and his father Bob (Dennis Quaid) are taking care of pregnant Charlie (Adrianne Palicki). They work at Paradise Falls diner in the middle of nowhere with Percy Walker (Charles S. Dutton). Kyle Williams (Tyrese Gibson) has come to buy some drugs. Sandra (Kate Walsh) and Howard Anderson (Jon Tenney) are waiting for their car with sexual daughter Audrey (Willa Holland). Communication is cut off from the outside world. The group of strangers must battle all of heaven to save the world.

This movie has lots of interesting ideas and visual takes on this world. It's a shoot-em-up horror crossed with a graphic novel. The problem is that it's extremely underwritten. There is nothing to the story and the dialog is unimaginative. Otherwise it has good action and a few good actors. It's a bit of B-action.

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.

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

I saw the film last night. It started out like a typical "Survival Horror" film. A group of different people. A mysterious stranger rolls into town. All Hell (excuse me...HEAVEN) breaks loose. Then just as soon as the film got going, someone stabbed a pitchfork in it and turned it over. It totally changed gears.

Once the film first set-piece ended it turned into a slower version of Night of the Living Dead. This is largely due to a plot point that set this rule into action: God put a restraining order on all ZombAngels. They were not allowed to get too close to the main protagonist. So without giving anything away; you can now imagine the pacing of the film up to the climax. Slow and uneventful.

The acting was a caliber above most Horror films. Quaid, Black, and Bettany were all fine. However none were memorable. Even the two main Godsends, Gabriel and Michael, managed to have conflict that was forgotten seconds after the next scene started.

So I would say it's a "Catch on Cable" viewing. Unless you're a huge Bettany fan. Then I would say avoid this like the plague.

This movie didn't arrive in my country with much fanfare, so before I bought a ticket I did some research. Most reviews were negative, but I went to see it out of pure boredom. I didn't expect much and having read all the negative reviews I watched it with my critics glasses on.

I actually enjoyed this movie. Never have I given a movie 8/10 before. Why did I do it now? Performances. I reckon the people who went out to see this movie expected blood, guts and fecal matter flying all over the place. Instead they found hardcore actors doing what they do best. Even lesser known actors were up there doing it with the masters of the industry. Paul Bettany is one of the most underrated actors of our time. When has he ever given anything but a solid performance? Dennis Quaid? His prettiness might be a thing of the past, but as a performer he grows with every movie he makes. The same goes for the whole cast. They all acted like superstars.

You won't like this movie if you're into mindless B-grade BS. If, however, you like movies because the actors telling the story makes a fantasy feel so real you actually feel you're gonna break the armrests off your chair you should do yourself a favor and see this movie.

On a final note. Being a Christian myself I did not find this movie offensive at all.