Genre: Action/Supernatural/Thriller
Director: Scott Charles Stewart
Cast: Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Tenney, Lucas Black, Kate Walsh, Doug Jones, Charles S. Dutton, Adrianne Palicki, Kevin Durand, Willa Holland
RunTime: 1 hr 40 mins
Released By: Columbia TriStar
Rating: NC-16 (Some Violence and Coarse Language)
Official Website: http://legionmovie.com/

Opening Day: 21 January 2010

Synopsis:

In the supernatural action thriller "Legion," an out-of-the-way diner becomes the unlikely battleground for the survival of the human race.

When God loses faith in Mankind, he sends his legion of angels to bring on the Apocalypse. Humanity's only hope lies in a group of strangers trapped in a desert diner and the Archangel Michael (Paul Bettany).

Movie Review:

Would you believe that God will one day decide to abandon his beloved creation, humankind? Would you believe that just as He once sent his angel Gabriel to herald the coming of His promised saviour, God would also send Gabriel and the rest of his angels to annihilate the human race? Would you believe that once more, hope would lie in a child yet to be born? Those are big 'ifs', and here’s another- if you’re going to watch "Legion", you’d best be prepared to accept them.

According to "Legion", God will get disillusioned, decide enough is enough and send his angels to destroy mankind. But one angel will realise that he will do what God needs, not what God wants and clip his wings (literally) to fight on the side of the human race. That angel is the archangel Michael (Paul Bettany), who will find himself defending a group of humans trapped in a diner, including a eight-month pregnant woman named Charlie (Adrianne Palicki) whose baby is to be some kind of saviour.

Just so you know, the baby’s father has apparently skipped his parenting duties, leaving the kind-hearted Jeep Hanson (Lucas Black) to take care of her and the baby. The reference to Biblical salvation is unmistakable, and director and co-writer Scott Stewart could easily have made it smart or just plain dumb. Unfortunately, Stewart’s approach is the latter. Conveniently lifting from the pages of the Book, Stewart never bothers to explain in his film the significance of the unborn child or convey how or why the rest of the characters seem to suddenly believe that they have to protect the child.

Perhaps "Legion" was never meant to be an intelligent end-of-days thriller- nevertheless, as a pure popcorn action flick, it also fails to satisfy. There is all but two big action sequences in the movie- first when the group of strangers trapped at the desert diner Paradise Falls (get it?) encounter the fallen angel Michael; and second when Gabriel (Kevin Durand) comes to finish what Michael was sent to do. In between, nothing really happens- so like the characters in the story waiting for that final showdown, we too are left waiting for something, anything actually, to happen.

All that waiting could have meant something were it not for Stewart and co-writer Peter Schink’s dull screenplay that attempts some kind of characterization for what are essentially stock types in such a genre picture but fails. Thanks to some very cheesy lines, not the cynical hero of sorts (Dennis Quaid), the good guy with a past (Tyrese Gibson), the God-fearing evangelist (Charles S. Dutton) or the troubled family (Jon Tenney, Kate Walsh or Willa Holland) are any more interesting than their equivalents Hollywood screenwriters are oft to recycle.

There is little payoff at the end too, for what is supposed to be a climatic fight between one angel and another is lost amidst a blur of shadows, close-ups and quick cuts. So what "Legion" really has and squanders is a group of actors who put in their best despite the material. Paul Bettany is front and centre here as Michael, and he looks convincingly tough and chiselled for the role. Dennis Quaid is ever reliable, even though it looks like he could have played his part with his eyes closed.

Yes, you would believe that with such a capable cast assembled and an intriguing premise that "Legion" would be quite the apocalyptic thriller. You would however have thought wrong, for director Scott Stewart’s good stopped at the idea (which probably attracted the cast). With little buildup, bad dialogue (and story), and a disappointing climax, you can be sure that "Legion" won’t find its legion of fans anytime soon.

Movie Rating:



(No wonder God got angry at mankind- look at the kind of bullshit he came up with)

Review by Gabriel Chong