Legion

[kidd]

Has anyone watched this movie?

what do you think of it?

The premise is interesting but also kinda, dunno what to say. A group of human + Archangel Michael fighting the Almighty Creator God in a diner.

But, I'm really interested to see how it turns out. I wonder if Satan will make an appearance.

Synopsis from imdb

An out-of-the-way diner becomes the unlikely battleground for the survival of the human race. When God loses faith in humankind, 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 with the Archangel Michael.

[pemberly]

it seems interesting, but doesn't seem worth the price of a movie ticket. i'll probably rent it.

[remember_Cedric]

I tried finding a sensible and positive comment/review for this movie to convince me to watch it but I could't find any.

[Guo Xiang]

You know, the moment I saw this poster and the summary/taglines on it, I just knew it's going to be one helluva bad movie.

From what I've read from wiki so far, I can safely say I was right.

Here is a review, and I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did. IMO, the review is better than the plot itself. For all writers/hopeful-writers, if you want to be blasphemous, at least be creative with it. Pfft.

Legion : Angels with machine guns

The poster for the movie Legion, which depicts the heavenly body of actor Paul Bettany with a pair of wings protruding from his back, sends a clear message to moviegoers: it's an angel movie, people.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2...hine-guns.html

[kidd]

Read the review. The warrior saving the mother of an important unborn child part sounds like 'Terminator'.

I check out some good comments in imdb. One said the characterisation is good. But, interesting, these good reviews mostly very low % of people finding it useful (you can vote this in imdb).

3 of the good reviews.

click to show/hide spoilers

This isn't the movie you think it is -- and that's a good thing

Author: Tom Lee from Bloomington, Indiana

This movie was apparently marketed as some kind of apocalyptic action film. If you go into it expecting such a thing, you will be disappointed. But I tend to judge a movie by what the makers were trying to do, and I think Stewart is trying to tell a "Lifeboat" type story here -- yes, the whole angels vs. humans thing is going on, and that's not spoiling anything if you've seen the trailers, but the focus is on the characters trying to survive it.

And those characters are well written and acted. Focus on them, and this film is a good character-driven action drama with an apocalyptic horror backdrop. Focus on the supernatural action movie you imagine this is, and you won't enjoy it. It's as simple as that.

I liked the movie a lot once I figured out what kind of movie it was. The only problem I have with it is the way it ended. Without spoiling it, it left things open for a sequel -- way too open, without really concluding or explaining anything. The conflict is ended, and it seems unlikely that it will happen again, but more questions are raised than answered about why this happened, and the future of the world is uncertain. The good news is that since the film is really about the characters, and since the characters' individual plot lines seem to have been resolved, one way or another, I'm not left unsatisfied by the movie on that level.

And I totally agree with other reviewers that scenes that are supposed to surprise the audience shouldn't be shown in the trailer -- I really wish they wouldn't do that. The trailer should give you some idea what a movie's about, and maybe show some cool scenes, but it should NOT spoil the movie's surprises, and _Legion_'s trailer spoiled it.

click to show/hide spoilers

A High-octane Apocalyptic Actioneer!,

Author: Van Roberts ([email protected]) from Columbus, Ms

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Freshman director Scott Stewart's high-octane apocalyptic actioneer "Legion" suffers from one contrivance after another, but this suspenseful secular saga conjures up more than enough thrills, chills and spills to keep audiences entertained with its audacity. A desolate roadside diner in a sprawl of hills in the middle of nowhere serves as the setting for an end-game showdown between mankind and its Maker. Gladiatorial archangels, demonic humans with a cannibalistic lust for flesh, a mammoth insect swarms and other ominous symbols of Revelation appear in this old school, souped-up, R-rated, gunfire meets fantasy smörgåsbord. The self-sacrificing Archangel Michael slices off his own wings for the occasion and opposes a dutiful Gabriel to protect an unborn child and preserve humanity from utter extinction. According to our winged wonder, God wants to grease humanity for the second time. Basically, the Supreme Being can no longer tolerate our B.S. Mind you, this is a sanitized paraphrasing of the profane problem. Like the Egyptians in the Old Testament, God dispatches plagues, demons, and cannibals to polish off mankind. Non-religious audiences will crave the noisy battle scenes with their fusillades of gun-fire. Most of the violence staged outside against the aggressors resembles a first-person shooter video game. The adversaries hurl themselves futilely against the good guys in a hopeless frontal assault. Often, during lulls in the attacks as our appealing and clearly sympathetic characters let their guns cool off, they discuss philosophical and moral issues. Nevertheless, "Legion" illustrates the dictum that the meek shall inherit the earth. Stewart and his scenarist Peter Schink refrain from proselytizing.

"Legion" opens with an unmistakable homage to James Cameron's sci-fi classic "The Terminator." Archangel Michael falls mysteriously from the night skies and lands in a dark back alley with blood on his face. He whips out a savage-looking knife, cuts off his wings, later sews the wounds shut, stocks up with an arsenal of lethal hardware, tangles with the L.A.P.D., and careens off in their cruiser. Meanwhile, the action shifts to the Paradise Falls Diner where the usual gallery of customers and employees huddle, among them the hard-bitten owner Bob Hanson (Dennis Quaid of "Pandorum"), his simple-minded but conscientious mechanic son Jeep (Lucas Black of "Sling Blade"), gruff but friendly short-order cook Percy Walker (Charles S. Dutton of "Alien 3"), an affluent couple, Sandra (Kate Walsh of "Bewitched") and Howard (Jon Tenney of "The Stepfather"), whose BMW has broken down, their defiant teen daughter Audrey (Willa Holland of "Garden Party") and an enigmatic, pistol-packing African-American, Kyle Williams (Tyrese Gibson of "Death Race") who is caught up in a child custody quarrel. The most important character in "Paradise Falls" is a pretty, young waitress with the morals of an ally cat, Charlie (Adrianne Palicki of "Seven Mummies"), who has gotten herself in the family way. Ironically, she had toyed with the idea of abortion, but now only wants to hand her child off to a good family. Bob Hanson knows something about defeat. He opened a diner in the worst place in the world and hoped that a shopping mall would take root nearby. The mall took root but not nearby, so Bob's roadside restaurant Paradise Falls, (talk about theme!), never became the pot of gold that he had envisaged when he dreamed about opening it. His wife left him to raise son and Bob doesn't want Jeep to waste his time with Charlie.

Unlike God, Michael has never lost his faith in mankind. He has come to defend Charlie and her unborn baby. He brings the firepower that he looted from a warehouse and arms Percy, Kyle, Charlie, and the others some pretty, heavy-duty hardware in the form of assault weapons. Initially, Michael has been assigned to slay the baby. When he confronts Gabriel, they have an argument about obedience. The obsequious Gabriel wants nothing more than to do the Lord's work, while Michael prefers to be insubordinate. Director Scott Stewart stages everything like a Rob Zombie showdown movie. Happily, Stewart and "Gotham Café" co-scripter Peter Schink never take themselves or the storyline seriously. The first time that we meet Bob Hanson, he is slapping around a television monitor, trying to get a decent signal. The old black & white movie that is being broadcast is the James Stewart classic "It's A Wonderful Life" and the scene where an angel, Clarence, informs Stewart that he is an angel who is trying to earn his wings. This foreshadowing of Michael and his wingless arrival is appropriately tongue-in-cheek. The first demon that enters the diner is an elderly "Golden Girl" type named Gladys Foster (Jeanette Miller of "The Truman Show") who uses a wheeled walker. The "Legion" trailer shows her warning Charlie that the waitress' baby will burn. Gladys turns demonic after acting so sweet to everybody, rips a hole in Howard's neck, scuttles across the ceiling like a human fly, and recovers after momentarily being stunned by a flying frying pan.

No, "Legion" doesn't qualify as scriptural, despite its Bible-themed message of redemption. This movie reminded me of those larger-than-life Arnold Schwarzenegger science fiction sagas from the 1980s. Everything about "Legion" is gloriously low-tech, even down to the hardware. Gabriel and Michael tangle, the former wielding a mace while the latter brandishes a shotgun. The performances are uniformly excellent and the cast maintains a straight face through this riotous nonsense. Lenser John Lindley, whose credits include "The Serpent and the Rainbow," "Field of Dreams," and "Pleasantville," creates considerable tension and suspense with his darkly-lighted cinematography. The surprise ending and the changes that Jeep and Charlie experience along with the adrenalin-fueled shoot-out sequences make "Legion" into entertaining hokum.

click to show/hide spoilers

Pure entertainment and nothing more...no religion, no message, no intellectual properties

Author: Robert W. ([email protected]) from Ontario, Canada

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This is going to be a tough review to write. The reason I say that is because Legion for all intents and purposes is not a good film. Its ridiculous, preposterous, with plot holes the size of cannon balls. You could pick this film apart until there was nothing left of it but angel wings and dirt. So here is the thing. Legion was incredibly entertaining! The action was wicked and intense, the characters were fun and intriguing, it was gory and action packed so despite everything else I had fun. You basically have to let go of everything to go into this film. And some people can do that because a movie is not always art, or full of message and morality, a film can also just be absolutely nothing but entertain and for me Legion did exactly that. Upon retrospect of the film you'll start to realize the startling amount of errors and plot holes but I think a movie should be reviewed mostly on its first impression like when you're sitting in the theater. The unfortunate side to the film is that it misses the incredible potential of this epic good vs evil battle by making the story rather convoluted and underusing the characters of Michael and Gabriel.

Paul Bettany is a great actor and very versatile. I think the film makers of Legion were lucky to have him. He is brooding, and strong and commanding as the rogue angel Michael. Even being a leading character they underuse him and we really don't get to see enough of his action. Lucas Black is naive and simple Jeep Hanson. In a normal film he would likely become the hero but when you've got an Angel to contend with you take a backseat and unfortunately that is where his performance is pushed to. He does well but is overshadowed in a big from the other actors in the film. That includes Dennis Quaid as Black's father. I love Quaid and this is no exception. Its a small role but he takes it and makes it his own and really commands the screen. Adrianne Palicki is the lead female who is basically the cause of this angelic war. Palicki is very underused because I think she could have given a really strong performance if she had been given the chance but like Black she takes a back seat. The cast is also boosted by some amazing supporting performances by Charles S. Dutton and Kevin Durand who should have also been used more. Also worth mentioning is solid supporting roles from Kate Walsh, Jon Tenney, and Willa Holland.

Some might also go into this movie figuring it to be an epic battle between good and evil, Angels and Demons, further proved by the name of film, Legion being a horde of demons that possess someone in the bible. Instead this is about a battle from Heaven between Angels not even fallen Angels. The special effects are solid and even breath taking at times. The film also reeks of being Stephen King-esquire which in my opinion is one of the highest compliments. King could have put this together much much better but it has the twisted religious overtones, the isolation of a desert gas bar, and even the vivid characters. So for all of you that love to be simply entertained and want a thriller, action, even part horror film then absolutely treat yourself to Legion and avoid trying to pick it apart. It's a solid action trick. 7.5/10

This one is 6 out of 10 stars review

click to show/hide spoilers

A Nutshell Review

Author: DICK STEEL from Singapore
*** This review may contain spoilers ***

The trailer had me thinking that this would be one heck of a slice and dice fest in the same vein as Feast or even The Mist, with a group of rag tag survivors being huddled together in a diner / supermarket, and the fight for survival against invading monsters of all shapes, sizes and surprises. The latter film also had a bible-thumper, and religion forms the basis of the premise here, when you see how it all becomes a modern day re-imagining of the tale of Mary, Joseph, and the prophetic messiah baby.

That's just my angle at making sense of the flimsy plot which didn't develop properly, despite ample time in the first half that had characters talking, rationalizing and reflecting on just what their predicament is, and how senseless it all seemed, at the expense of action sequences that undeniably got better as the film wore on. Amongst the action offered that I've not seen before involved the angel Gabriel (last done androgynously by Tilda Swinton in Constantine), which brings to mind just how angels would be clad for battle, with armour, close combat weapon with frills, and those metallic wings used both defensively and offensively in quite elegant ways as shield and blade combined in one sweeping motion. Not to forget, flight too.

Unfortunaately there are a number of close references to other films, most notably the Terminator movies and the Matrix combined for certain scenes that looked way too familiar. The beginning already had Terminator like arrival of the angel Michael (Paul Bettany) to our world, earmarked for destruction by God because he was losing faith in the bullshit of mankind. He's not following his book of Revelations though, as he sends his angelic force to earth mimicking how Terminator robots get sent back in time. Or the severe warping of the human face to indicate possession by a higher, in this case, spiritual force.

Basically, the world is God's matrix, and the angels being his agents sent to stop and destroy the birth of the prophetic Neo, who is but an unborn child in Charlie (Adrianne Palicki), an unwed mom who's waitressing at a diner out of nowhere aptly titled Paradise Falls, run by the estranged father and son team of Bob (Dennis Quaid) and Jeep Hanson (Lucas Black from Fast and Furious 3), who get thrown into the thick of the action together with the rest of their diner crew and customers, which can be easily read as fodder for the apocalypse, which came in the form of a spider granny, ice cream man and the likes.

For the film to work, you have to buy into its reasoning that God has decided to end the world through an unfair battle using his angels against humans, and the absence of the Devil whom a friend thought would actually either rejoice, or would have gathered new followers with the exodus of human souls now being abandoned by the holy one. If you don't subscribe to this premise, then everything will not hold water, and it'll become just another mindless action flick that flits from one sequence to another.

And let me know if you don't agree that the baby is the messiah (if I wanted to go one step further it could even be the second coming), since every angel bowed their heads in reverence, and stopped dead in their tracks. It wasn't explained why the baby held the key to the salvation of mankind, so that's my speculation. After all, Michael the angel did find it worthwhile to switch sides in order to find some glimmer of hope amongst mankind to change his master's mind.

Legion had an interesting potential but ultimately got let down by its half-baked plot development and references so close you'd think it was The Matrix or The Terminator. It got played out too seriously for its good, though with room given for a sequel if one ever gets made given the way it ended (really like The Terminator again), and this time maybe with room to deal with the demons now that angels are likely out of the way.

[Cesare]

I loved the trailer and I love the idea - but the reviews so far are fairly disappointing. I plan to give it a shot, but I'm not holding my breath...

I wonder - is it truly as subversive as it seems - or does it turn meek and tame in the end with god ending up as a good guy (again)...?

Frankly, one of these days I'd love to see or read something that depicts the Biblical God for what he is - an absurdly sadistic autocrat with very twisted sense of cruel humor. I was kinda hoping that Legion would be just that - but I'm not so optimistic anymore.


Anyway - if you want a good film with an angel (Archangel Gabriel to be specific) as the villain, go for Prophecy. Stylish film - and Walken absolutely rocks as Gabe.

[pemberly]

one positive that i got from the trailer is that the guy beats the crap out of an old lady. that might be worth watching!

[Guo Xiang]

one positive that i got from the trailer is that the guy beats the crap out of an old lady. that might be worth watching!

You are likely to think differently 40 years down the road.

[pemberly]

You are likely to think differently 40 years down the road.

40 years down the road, i'll be a kung fu master and would have retired to a bamboo house in the mountains with my pet condor.

[Cesare]

Old ladies can be dangerous even when they don't crawl up the walls...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MuXUMDZ_P4
:-)

[kidd]

This movie also reminded me of the movie Gabriel. I've the DVD, but have not watch yet. The DVD is not with me now. Have to wait to watch it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0857376/

Synopsis from imdb

The film Gabriel reveals the battle between good and evil and the fight for the human soul. Set in a dark, dreary purgatory, there is a struggle between Arc and Fallen angels for control over the city of vice, violence and cruelty, and its population of re-born souls. At present, darkness rules and Gabriel, the last of seven Arcs sent to return the light, must assume a human form for the first time to wrestle the midworld away from the hands of the lead fallen angel 'Sammael' and his task force of gun toting followers. Gabriel is young, strong an the mightiest warrior since Michael, his predecessor, who has disappeared. Sammael's victory is assured throughout the film, as Gabriel plays into his hands, falling prey to human emotions, by tracking down and healing the broken Arc angels, including the lost angel "Jade" who has turned to drugs and vice to get by. All Arc's before him have failed in their mission. Just when you think its getting good for Gabriel, Sammael has one last card to play: the secret of his own past, the knowledge of which could destroy Gabriel forever. In the darkest places of the human soul, this lone arc angel's battle with his human feelings and emotions will prove as perilous as facing the Fallen.

[remember_Cedric]

Old ladies can be dangerous even when they don't crawl up the walls...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MuXUMDZ_P4
:-)

Ladyboys with seniority!

[ash joe]

This movie also reminded me of the movie Gabriel. I've the DVD, but have not watch yet. The DVD is not with me now. Have to wait to watch it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0857376/

Synopsis from imdb

If you have no dvd at that time than bro you can download this movie from any good sites???????

[makkk]

such a good movie and the concept of the movie was really really great love to see it agian....

[kidd]

Watching the 'Legion' now. The part where Archangel Michael came down to earth at the beginning look so much like the part when Archangel Gabriel came down to purgatory in 'Gabriel'.