Legion
Posted on August 8th, 2010
Legion
[Rating: 6.5/10]
Throw in and mix a messianic prophecy, an age old war between light and dark, and a bunch of people in a diner in the middle of nowhere and you get Legion.
The main reason I went to watch this movie is because I have an interest in angel/demon lore. I had read extremely mixed reviews on it, most of them were not very good I must admit, but I’m not one for turning down a movie just based on reviews so I decided to give it a go. After watching it, I have to say the premise actually had a lot of potential and there were some memorable bits, some good and not so (the old woman in the trailer was the creepiest thing in the whole film, do not like…). Okay, so let’s start with the positive: I liked the character of Michael, who was probably the saving grace of them film, that and his epic battle with Gabriel, who in contrast was rather disappointingly portrayed. I also like the image of archangels being war hardened soldiers who are still beautiful at the same time but in the chiseled, powerful way. I mean, while pretty boys are not a bad thing, in reality I think god’s army would be pretty well-formed from constantly fighting over the centuries. The bullet proof wings were very awesome. So in that aspect I think the producers were on track.
However, the main thing that griped me about the angelic host… why are only the archangels human-like and the rest of the army like some demonic spawn with no form of their own, not to mention horribly ugly and shrieky. They more reminded me of one of those zombie hoardes more than anything else, especially how they attacked their victims and their vacant walk and expressions. Also what was with the expandable limbs… I guess the people who made this film wanted a somewhat shock-and-awe-bending-convention thing going on but it just did not work for me at all. Also with regards to Gabriel and Michael, it would make more sense if their positions had been reversed. Another this that irked me was the overuse of the story of Jesus and the portrayal of God… While I consider myself a fairly religious person, poorly adapted plotlines of religious stories that don’t show any research are what make people get the wrong impressions of the religion, no matter what religion it may be. I quote this review that sums up how I feel about this aspect
Here’s the thing about God. He either needs to be treated with reverence or lampooned without mercy. Either he’s entirely responsible for all we hold dear or a goofy figment of fairy tale bamboozlement. There’s no middle ground. There can‘t be a middle ground. Legion‘s attempts to be both a goofy, foul-mouthed, cliché-ridden horror film and a judgmental, humanity-has-ruined-itself-with-free-will epic. Legion’s portrayal of a God who has totally given up hope and wants to destroy everything he has created is rather unbelievable. I also don’t like portrayals where God is all angry and wrathful. The show seemed confused as to whether it was horror or fantasy as the trailer made it look more horror.
Another reeding feature would have to be the secondary cast, as to tell the truth, Jeep had totally no personality, even his father, Bob was more developed, as well as the other patrons of the diner. Charlie, the heroine was a little better a but she didn’t do much as everyone was more or less just protecting her. I also quite liked the relationship between the Anderson family, in particular between the mother and daughter. They gave the show some psychological depth at least. I was sad at Audrey’s death. I don’t believe that they needed to kill off everyone just to get the obvious story’s point across.
Anyway, this show had quite a bit of potential but too bad it didn’t deliver as I hoped. Still, it wasn’t as bad as to sink into my list of movies I wish I didn’t spend my time on. My wallet just cries a little at paying full movie admission as I would not have minded watching this on rental dvd or as flight entertainment.
Filed under: ** movie, action, fantasy