Legion is a 2010 apocalyptic supernatural thriller currently available on DVD.
Plot
We quickly see Archangel Michael ( played by A-Class actor Paul Bettany) after he has fallen from heaven and landed in LA (the City of Angels), where he quickly cuts off his wings, raids a gun shop, has an altercation with possessed police officers and steals one of their cars, as you do (no – this isn’t The Hangover).
Flash to a roadside diner in the middle of the desert, we are introduced to zombie / angel fodder including the diner’s owner, Bob Hanson ( played by Dennis Quaid), his son Jeep ( played by American Gothic’s Lucas Black), a short-order cook, single father Kyle (played by Tyrese Gibson); an urban married couple and their daughter and a pregnant waitress, Charlie.
Soon creepy beings start descending onto the Diner, with only the arrival of Michael bringing any sense of hope and a message: God has lost faith in mankind and has sent down his angels to destroy the human race. However, going against His orders, Michael is attempting to save Charlies’ unborn baby as it is prophesied that it is the saviour of mankind. Soon the apocalypse comes to the diner, where its residents, Michael and a whole lot of guns experience wackiness in biblical proportions.
Review
This is unashamedly a B themed movie done with A list trimmings. The acting is surprisingly strong, from Dennis Quaid to Paul Bettany. Surprisingly, a lot of film time is given to the characters, setting them up as more than 1 dimensional (this has been seen as a negative however by some critics, taking away time for holy-war exploits). Like Kevin Bacon in Tremors, it is amazing and fun to see A-lister Paul Bettany in all of this B-movie shenanigans. Paul has had a go at playing quite a few religious and intellectual characters in such films as Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Creation and his turn as an albino monk assassin in The Da Vinci Code. Paul has striking, classic features and a quiet, calming accent that evokes ease and intellect. In Legion, he pulls all of these characteristics together to create Michael, a calming, well-bible-researched archangel who is quite good at hand-to-hand combat and gun use!
The story is similar to a wealth of others before it involving Angels that are jealous of the relationship God has with his creations; God gave humans the choice to follow him or not, whereas Angels were created specifically to serve God, without any of the means to enjoy themselves or to have full lives as seen in Dogma, Wings of Desire it’s remake City of Angels and the creepily cool Prophecy trilogy.
Legion takes the themes from the Prophecy trilogy and The Terminator franchise further by showing the actual apocalypse take place, albeit in a budget sensible location; a desert. We are set-up for a zombie movie which has cool shoot-outs, creepy villains and bullet-proof angel wings. The special effects are strong, and we see plenty of creatures that will give you a fright (the old woman scene is priceless). Watch the DVD extras to see how they made the grass-hopper like ice-cream man effect out of Hellboy’s physical actor Doug Jones.
Rating
This movie does not pretend to be anything more than it is: a B movie. Like Scott Pilgrim Vs the World however it is given dedicated actors and amazing special effects. It feels like it is lucky to have been made to such a specific audience at such a high quality. If you like this type of thing, and let’s face it, if you like the poster with an Angel with a knife and a gun, you know what you are in for - Legion does deliver in bucket-loads! I give this B movie themed, A class actors and special effects movie 4 out of 5 angel wings.
Check out what Margaret and David have to say, and watch the trailer!
Luke McWilliams, December 2010
