Legion Reviews

Before it was released, there was somewhat some buzz about this flick but who could blame the mainstream audience? Indeed, Paul Bettany looked pretty awesome on the poster with his wings and his weapons. Eventually, it was a flop and after watching it, I can't say it didn't deserve this faith. Basically, the whole thing was a terrible mess pathetically trying to mix some religious stuff within an action movie. Seriously, the whole thing had some potential and it could have bee pretty bad-ass but, unfortunately, the end-result was just terribly underwhelming. Furthermore, I think I have never seen such a religion themed feature showing such a lack of spirituality. Compared to this, 'The Da Vinci Code' was a real epiphany. And what the hell happened to Paul Bettany?!? At the beginning of the 2000's, he emerged as one of the most talented actors of his generation but if you move forward 10 years later, he hasn't done anything remotely amazing, expect maybe snitching Jennifer Connelly. The best is that Paul Bettany would work again with director Scott Stewart 2 years later for 'Priest' which was equally disappointing. To conclude, even though I have seen worse movies, it is still pretty damned average and not really worth a look.

Truly a test of faith, Quaid plays the role of small business owner reluctant and bitter to believe in a higher power, but he is soon faced with unmistakable proof and forced to rise to the occasion. Not one for the kids, this somewhat disturbing action sci-fi film is sure to keep you up at night.

Scott Stewart's supernatural thriller Legion, scripted by Peter Schink, concerns a group of strangers in an out-of-the-way eatery who become the first line of defense when God, believing the human race is no longer worthy of Him, decides to end their existence. This motley crew's only spiritual ally is the archangel Michael, played by Paul Bettany. Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, Charles S. Dutton, and Lucas Black co-star in the Screen Gems production.

Well... This movie was really not that interesting.. (to me) and was very cheesy and predictable throughout the whole movie..but hey, that's just me.

Good film, not a fan of the freaky stuff, random old ladys are always trouble. Love the cast: Lucas, Paul, etc. Played a little to hard on obvious emotion like the girl with the ballon, and the kid! But the story was interesting.

I really enjoyed this movie... Ahah...
The old lady walking on the ceiling like a cockroach... and the kid with that weird funny voice... and those fantastic scenes of possession with heads spinning and shaking.
Definitively the funniest movie of the year.
Eh?
What?
What did you sa...?
It's not a comedy??? It's a horror?
Oh.

could have been so so much better had a similar plot and build up to - dusk til dawn. But this unlike D2D - failed to deliver with any real punch. like meeting a huge rugby player size fella - and having a very limp handshake - ooh..

Man did the trailor make this movie look awesome, and it wasn't. The build up to this movie was so boring, most of the characters talked about how their lives were than worrying about what sort of angels are going to attack next. The action wasn't even that great, it was like the action would happen, it wouldn't last long, and then they go into the diner, and talk about what life they want to live. The acting wasn't that strong either. I'll give it that there were some cool scenes, but they should have cut half this movie out, and it would have been at least decent.

Prendete "Terminator", "Io sono leggenda" e "Dal tramonto all'alba". Mischiate bene e dalla poltiglia che ottenete buttate via tutto il buono che c'è. Quel poco che rimane è Legion, ossia il film più brutto del 2010, una cosa che non si può vedere, che offende lo spettatore che ha deciso di spendere un paio d'ore della propria vita (che poi si sono sensibilmente ridotte perché a tutto c'è un limite) per gustarsi un film. Dopo un quarto d'ora di visione, siamo già tutti dalla parte degli angeli distruttori, a fare il tifo perché l'Apocalisse faccia in fretta a spazzare via tutto. Raccapricciante.

"I knew He'd send you, Gabriel. You were always so eager to please Him."

In supernatural end-of-the-world films, it's typically the Devil who brings about an Armageddon, but in 2010's Legion it's God who chooses to destroy mankind. That's the plot of this apocalyptic thriller, which should've been an irresistibly daft blast of B-Grade fun, but is instead a deadly dull, poorly-paced, uninvolving, pedestrian hodgepodge of familiar genre ideas and downright appalling connect-the-dots screenwriting. Legion also serves as evidence that Dennis Quaid, who is a perfectly decent actor when working with the right material, is truly on a never-ending quest to feature in as many bad movies as possible. Who knew the end of the world could be such a bore...

The premise is simple: God is fed up with "man's bullshit" and triggers a global apocalypse, in which a swarm of warrior angels are sent to Earth to destroy humankind. Michael (Bettany) is a rogue angel who throws off his heavenly shackles to do what he believes is best, and save the life of an unborn infant who is somehow important to the salvation of the human race. The final battle for the survival of humanity involves automatic weapons and takes place at an isolated diner in the Mojave Desert. Of course, why God chose such an ineffective, unusual way to destroy the world is never explained or touched upon (are floods and pestilence not good enough anymore?).

Legion is loaded with familiar scenes and scenarios, including scenes depicting characters falling for obvious traps that lead to their predictable demise. But the storyline itself is also familiar - it's essentially a clueless combination of The Terminator, Assault on Precinct 13, End of Days, and numerous living dead efforts. Unfortunately, Charlie (Palicki) - the character carrying the important infant - is easy to hate throughout the film. She's sweet, but also smokes when pregnant, constantly talks about her desire to give the baby away, and is pretty much useless. If an audience is unable to care about her, how are we supposed to invest in her protection, which is what most of the film focuses on?

The film marks the directorial debut of ILM veteran Scott Stewart, and his inexperience is obvious all the way through the movie. Most disappointing is the climax, which is virtually impossible to decode due to terribly misjudged cinematography and editing. Legion does show promise at certain points during its first half hour, as it showcases a few interesting shots and is imbued with a degree of tension. But this potential is destroyed by the rest of the film, which collapses under the weight of how seriously the subject is taken. The premise is ridiculous and promises a campy, enjoyable time, but the movie never runs carefree and enjoys the premise. As a result, there's precious little angel-on-angel action. Instead, God has chosen to deploy a great deal of slow, shuffling zombie-like creations that make for easy cannon fodder. It also doesn't help that the narrative momentum is frequently undermined by long spells of total inactivity and moments depicting the characters delivering yawn-inducing exposition about their past. Literally everyone stops to make a long, boring speech, each with the same sombre delivery. Perhaps God is fed up with all the moody yammering, and has decided to wipe out mankind for that reason? Without a hint of humour and with very few enjoyable moments, Legion is an utter bore, bluntly performed by a limited cast visibly unable to compute if the material was high camp or Shakespeare.

The main crime perpetuated by Legion is the total lack of brains. The script is a mess of plot holes, illogicalities and inconsistencies. In the very first scene, Michael breaks into an armoury, and, instead of using the front door to walk out, he blows up a wall and draws attention to himself. It's a moment included to amplify the "cool factor", but just comes off as silly. Several questions come to mind during this movie as well. For instance, why can't the creator of the universe strike down Charlie or trigger a miscarriage? Why would God send a bunch of incompetent, possessed humans to kill humankind, rather than a shower of asteroids or a flow of lava? Another thing that sticks out like a sore thumb is the lack of rules when it comes to possession. At the beginning, a police officer is possessed in order for God to converse with Michael. So why doesn't God or one of his minions possess Charlie or any of those in the diner? Why not possess the entire human race and force them all to commit suicide? Did the filmmakers ever stop to think these things through? Eventually, Gabriel is sent in to kill the pregnant woman. But again, Gabriel is as unsuccessful as every other option tried so far, and God still refuses to make a giant boulder appear out of thin air to crush the diner. But here's the most glaring thing: when an angel possesses a human, why do they turn into hellish demon creatures?

While Legion has its moments from time to time, it remains a dopey horror-action mishmash marred by lack of action, an aggressive, intrusive score, mediocre acting, inherent cheesiness, bland characters, long-winded dialogue, misjudged filmmaking, unremarkable CGI and a very confused take on the Almighty. The film never seems to understand its own potential, too - it could have been a fun, action-packed grindhouse-style actioner, but it instead commits the ultimate sin of tedium.

3.8/10