Maut Ke Farishtey

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.

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

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.

God loses the faith in mankind and order the Angel Michael (Paul Bettany) and a legion of angels to bring the Apocalypse on Earth and exterminate the human race. However, Michael rebels against the order and decides to help the humans. Meanwhile in a diner in the middle of nowhere, the owner Bob Hanson (Dennis Quaid) runs the place with his son Jeep (Lucas Black), the pregnant waitress Charlie (Adrianne Palacki) and his friend Percy Walker (Charles S. Dutton). Their costumers are the Anderson family that is stranded in the place waiting that Jeep fixes their BMW and the lonely Kyle Williams (Tyrese Gibson) that is lost and wants to make a phone call. When an old woman named Glady Foster (Jeanette Miller) arrives in the diner, she attacks Howard Anderson (Jon Tenney) on the neck with her shark teeth and she is finally killed by Kyle. When a police car arrives in the spot, the stranger Michael advises that Earth is the battleground between angels and humans and Glady was only a vessel possessed by an angel. Further, Charlie's should be born to save the humankind.

"Legion" is a film with a promising beginning and a disappointing conclusion. I really expected to enjoy this film, but the story has many clichés and there is no explanation why the bastard son of Charlie would save the human race. I do not understand how people that can find religious background in a blockbuster action movie. Further, if they have trauma with this theme, why wast their time watching this movie? My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Legião" ("Legion")

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.